Max: World's Oldest Dog

From ERIC SHACKLE in Sydney, Australia. <ericshackle*bigpond.com>

Max, a "mixed terrier" living in New Iberia, Louisiana, is probably the oldest dog alive in the world.  He celebrated his 28th birthday on August 9. If he survives 18 more months, he'll be the oldest pooch in recorded history.

An Australian cattle dog, Bluey, worked among sheep and cattle for 20 years, and survived until November 14, 1939, when he was put down. He had lived for 29 years, five months and seven days, on a diet of kangaroos and emus. He was the world's oldest dog, a record that has never been beaten.

"Though Max has 'slowed up' up a bit in recent years and his coarse, light brown coat is graying, he still manages to play with his owner, Janelle deRouen's visiting grandchildren in the backyard and trots through the house in search of a place to nap", Jessica Goff reported in the The New Iberian newspaper.

“'He is really protective of us and the grandkids,'  said Janelle. 'Being an old man, he is set pretty in his ways. He is just like some elderly people. He goes to bed early and wakes up with the chickens.'"

Jessica Goff continued, "deRouen acquired Max as a 6-week-old puppy in 1983 from a local sugar cane farmer who had a litter of six, she said. Ever since, the dog has been a part of her family, which includes her husband, Billy, and her five children and now grandchildren.

"'Other than having a tooth pulled, Max has never had any major health problems', Janelle deRouen said.

"I'n recent years he began suffering from cataracts, but his eyesight is still relatively keen.'  She said she doesn’t know the secret to his longevity, other than she keeps him up to date with his annual shots and keeps him away from table scraps.

“'These days he is just happy to wake up every day,' she said. 'He just sits and lounges till he falls off to sleep.'

"Though unofficial, Max has even been recognized as the world’s oldest dog by British newspapers The Daily Mail and The Telegraph which featured Max’s 26th birthday party two years ago in their publications.

“'It’s discouraging that we haven’t heard back [from Guinness World Records] so that it’s official,' she said. 'But we know, and everyone who knows Max already knows that he is the world’s oldest dog,' she said Thursday as the timeworn terrier dozed off by her feet.

“'It’s discouraging that we haven’t heard back so that it’s official. But we know, and everyone who knows Max already knows that he is the world’s oldest dog.'"

Here are photos of Max taken two years ago:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205517/Max-terrier-worlds-oldest-dog-celebrates-26th-birthday.html

And here's Janelle deRouen with Max   www1.katc.com/videos/world-s-oldest-dog-/

Is Luke, Zach or Terry World's Best Whistler?

Our bid to find the world's best whistler has taken a new turn. First we had Luke Janssen of Sydney, Australia, and Zach Wade, of Columbia, Missouri, claiming the title. Now we've discovered that 60-year-old Terry Rappold, of New Orleans, Louisians, has won the 2011 world whistling championship, just as he did in 2007.

"I've been whistling since I was about five years old," he told George Gartner in a story in Louisiana's Country Roads Magazine.

"Walking down the street, in the school yard, you name it, I was usually whistling. Growing up, my whistling was a constant source of irritation for my brothers and sisters. But into adulthood, as I progressed and got better, they came to appreciate it."

Gurtner recalled Mae West's commrnt, " You do know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and blow." He added.  "... unless you're Terry Rappold, of course. Rappold is the king of the whistlers, the pucker's pucker, the warbling wizard of Louisiana, the man who is as apt to make a joyful noise through his trilling lips as he shaves as when he's behind the wheel of his car."

So now we have to decide which of the talented trio truly deserves to be called The World's Best Whistler.

You can hear (and see) therm performing in these videos:

Luke Janssen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVTAvt8GiCc

Zach Wade: http://www.jschoolbuzz.com/meet-the-missouri-school-of-journalisms-youtube-celebrity/

Terry Rappold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE-uVX5hQic

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