A gigantic Great Dane who weighs a whopping 11 stone and is mistaken for a horse still tries to sit on his owner’s lap.
Elvis stands at 6ft 2in on his hind legs and towers over his 5ft 6in owner Kayleigh O’Riordan, 37.
The three-year-old dog sleeps on a three-seater sofa and eats 2kg of food every day, setting Kayleigh back £35 a week.
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“He touches the light on the living room ceiling when he’s on his hind legs and he’s a lot taller than me,” Kayleigh, from Frimley, Surrey, said.
“The last time he was measured he was 11 stone but he’s too big for the scales at our local vets.
“We joke about taking him to the scrap metal yard to use one of the scales they use to weigh cars.
“We knew he was going to be a big boy but we didn’t realise how big.”
Kayleigh also told What’s the Jam: “He just kept growing and growing and every time he reached his height, he grew again.
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“His size impacts everything from sharing the sofa to making a conscious effort not to leave anything on the kitchen sides as he’s shoulder height to the countertops.
“Our car choices are limited to what he can fit in.”
Kayleigh says the huge dog attracts lots of attention when they’re out for walks and people often mistake him for a horse.
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The business owner said: “People say ‘do you have a saddle for that?’ and ask to ride him.
“We’ve met a Shetland pony that was smaller than him.
“We get a lot of ‘wow, look at the size of that dog’ sometimes with a profanity or two.
“Walking him is a pleasure but I walk him in a long line as other dogs and some people don’t know how to take his size and it can cause shock or unease.
“He has good recall but I need to know I have full control.
“I like to take him to an enclosed field where he can run freely without having to be concerned about other people or dog’s reactions to him that could lead to reactivity from him.”
Despite his enormous size and weight, Elvis is convinced he’s still a lap dog.
Kayleigh said: “He’s claimed our sofa and he likes to try and boss us out of our seats.
“He looks at you with ‘move your feet, lose your seat’ eyes.”
“Elvis doesn’t know personal space and he doesn’t know how big he is.
“Since being a puppy, he’s stood underneath my legs for a cuddle and has continued to do so.
“He takes me off my feet.
“He’s also the prime height for swiping drinks off tables with his tail and it really hurts when he stands on your foot.”
Kayleigh says Elvis is a gentle soul, despite his intimidating size.
She added: “Once, a Dachshund barked at him and he hid behind me.
“He’s a gentle giant and he loves cuddles.
“We chose a Great Dane because we had a female one before Elvis and she was so special to us that we couldn’t divert from the breed.”
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