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Boomer, a Landseer Newfoundland, is a 7-foot-long dog (and he may be the world’s tallest)

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When Gibson, a harlequin Great Dane and the world’s tallest dog, died in August after a short battle with osteosarcoma, he left behind a void not just in his owner’s life, but in the Guinness World Records book as well.

Boomer, a 3-year-old Landseer Newfoundland (Newfoundland is his breed, which hails from the Canadian island of the same name, and Landseer refers to his black-and-white markings), is here to fill that second void. Boomer measures 36 inches tall at the withers (the ridge between the shoulder blades where dogs and horses are measured for height) -- a bit smaller than Gibson’s 42.2 inches -- and 7 feet long from nose to tail tip.

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Even for a Newfoundland, one of the largest dog breeds around, Boomer is big. (According to the Newfoundland’s AKC breed standard, 28 inches is an average height for males. And Boomer weighs more than the typical Newf too, tipping the scales at 180 pounds, with the average weight for males ranging from 130 to 150 pounds.) ‘He comes into the house and his tail is so high everything gets knocked around,’ his owner, Caryn Weber of eastern North Dakota, told the Associated Press.

As evidenced by the above photo, Boomer is big enough to drink from Weber’s kitchen faucet without having to stretch or stand on his hind legs. (Note to self: This is one reason we might want to stick with small-to-medium-sized dogs.) And a 20-pound supply of dog food lasts just a few weeks, Weber said.

As a puppy, Boomer was called Ripley (as in ‘Believe It or Not!’) by Weber’s sons, who gave him the nickname in reference to multiple surgeries he had to deal with an abdominal hernia. The growing puppy expanded at such an alarming rate that his stitches ripped, the Associated Press reports. (Note to self: This is another reason to stick with smaller dogs.) Later, Boomer grew into his ... well ... booming bark, and his current name was chosen.

Weber plans to send Boomer’s measurements to the Guinness company in hopes of snagging the currently unheld world record for tallest dog. (In case you’re wondering, an Irish wolfhound named Mon Ami von der Oelmühle has Boomer beat for the longest-dog title, measuring more than 7 feet.)

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Top photo: Boomer drinks from the kitchen sink at Weber’s home near Casselton, N.D. Credit: Dave Wallis / Associated Press

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