TAYLORS, S.C. — Pebbles, a toy fox terrier who was verified as the world’s oldest living dog in May, died Monday, according to Guinness World Records. She was 22.
Pebbles died peacefully of natural causes at her home in Taylors, South Carolina, from natural causes, her owners, Bobby and Julie Gregory, told WHNS-TV. She was five months shy of her 23rd birthday.
According to the Gregorys, they submitted Pebbles’ information to Guinness after realizing their pet was older than TobyKeith, a 21-year-old chihuahua from Greenacres, Florida, who was declared the world’s oldest living dog in April. One month later, Pebbles took the crown as the oldest living canine.
“Bobby was sitting on the couch and friends and family started texting and calling about a story they saw about a 21-year-old dog getting the record,” Julie Gregory told Guinness in a news release issued in May. “When I saw TobyKeith’s story all over the news, I applied.”
Pebbles was born March 28, 2000, in New York, and weighed 4 pounds, according to Guinness and the dog’s Instagram account. She moved with her family to South Carolina in 2007.
She had 32 puppies with her partner, Rocky, who died in 2016.
Pebbles enjoyed listening to country music “while she (was) sleeping” and counted Conway Twitty and Dwight Yokum as her favorites, Julie Gregory told Guinness.
“She was a once-in-a-lifetime companion, and it was our honor to have had the blessing to have had her as a pet, and family member,” Julie Gregory said in a statement. “There was never anyone who met Pebbles that didn’t love her. She will be deeply missed.”
Guinness has not announced a new record holder for the “oldest living dog category,” according to People. An Australian shepherd named Bluey, who lived to 29 years, 5 days old, holds the record for the oldest dog ever. Bluey was born in 1910 and died in 1939, according to Guinness.