Zoey sets world record for the longest tongue on a living dog

When it comes to being named the dog with the world’s longest tongue, Zoey has the competition licked.

The Labrador/German shepherd mix, from the state of Louisiana in the United States, has officially claimed the Guinness World Record with her 12.7cm tongue the longest on a living pooch.

That length is only 1cm less than the average mobile phone.

Her owners, Sadie and Drew Williams, said her tongue was noticeably* long, even as a puppy.

“We thought surely she’d grow into it but she obviously didn’t. She still has an enormous tongue compared to her body,” Sadie told the Guinness World Records team.

“We got Zoey when she was only six weeks old and in the first ever picture we have of her, she has her tongue sticking out,” Sadie said.

Drew said the length of Zoey’s tongue was most obvious after she had been playing outside and panting.

“It would be slobbering* all over the place,” said Drew.

He said people wanting to pat her were often left covered in drool*.

“We’ll warn them ahead of time ‘Hey, she’s friendly but she might slobber on you’ and every now and then she will, and they’ll have a big slobber mark on their black pants.”

Some of Zoey’s favourite activities include being outdoors, fetching balls, chasing squirrels, car rides, and swimming.

Zoey’s new record comes nearly three months after an English setter named Bisbee earned the title with a tongue measuring 9.49cm.

Before that, Mochi “Mo” Rickert, a female Saint Bernard who was a rescue dog from Colorado in the US, was the record holder with a huge 18.58cm tongue. She held the record for five years.

GLOSSARY

• noticeably: easy to see
• slobbering: having saliva dripping from the mouth
• drool: saliva from the mouth

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QUICK QUIZ
1. What sort of dog is Zoey?
2. Where does she live?
3. How long is her record-breaking tongue?
4. How many centimetres did it beat the previous record by?
5. Name three activities Zoey likes to do for fun.

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
1. News: condensed
Identify the most important pieces of information in this article and write a condensed version of it using 50 words or less.

Draw a picture or diagram to support your condensed news story.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Science

2. Extension
Compare your condensed news story with a classmate. Did you both include the same information or are your stories quite different? Discuss your choices and then work together to create a final condensed version of the story that you both agree tells the important parts that a reader would need or want to know.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
1. Adjectives
An adjective is a describing word. They are often found describing a noun. Start by looking at the words before the nouns. Search for all the adjectives you can find in the article.
Did you find any repeat adjectives or are they all different?