New York's Oldest Dog, Paco Sosa, Celebrates His 20th Birthday

Sep 11th 2009

A new pooch has been crowned New York's oldest dog!

Paco Sosa, a brown-haired dachshund living in New York City, celebrated his 20th birthday on September 5. With the passing of Chanel, a 21-year-old dachshund-mix living in Port Jefferson Station, New York -- known as the World's Oldest Dog -- last month, Paco now takes NYC's crown for most elderly canine.

Paco lives in Manhattan with his owner and human companion Bernadine Santistevan, a filmmaker and venture capitalist. Originally from New Mexico, Santistevan has had Paco since she first spotted him as an eight-month old pup looking scared and lonely in an Albuquerque pet store.

"He was in a cage and he just looked so sad," Santistevan tells Paw Nation. "He had his head up on his paws and he was blinking his big eyes. I went to play with him, but he was so terrified that he wouldn't even move. All he would do was crawl on his stomach and cry. It just broke my heart and I wanted to take him away and take care of him."

The little dachshund has thrived under Santistevan's care, developing a taste for organic chicken, fish and fruit. When Santistevan moved to New York City, she made sure to get a first floor apartment with a backyard -- no easy feat in Manhattan -- so Paco would have a place to play. Except for patches of white around his muzzle and chest, the dachshund, who is 140 years old in human years, has still retained most of his youthful, brown coloring.

So what is Paco's secret?