According to a recent Facebook post by Guinness World Records, the tallest dog ever was ‘Zeus’ (USA) a Great Dane, who was officially measured on this day in 2011 and found to be a staggering 1.118 m (44 in) tall. Zeus was owned by Denise Doorlag and her family, of Otsego, Michigan, USA.

Despite his height, Zeus had a very laid back personality, he got along well with any human or animal and was very gentle. He was a certified therapy dog that visited people at a nearby hospital.

Sadly, Zeus passed away in September 2014 at the age of five. To date, the record of tallest dog has only been held by one of two breeds: Great Danes and Irish wolfhounds.

[via Guinness World Records on Facebook]