chichi.

Uncle Chichi, unofficially the world's oldest dog, has died at (around) the age of 25 after a long bout with cancer, according to the New York Times. We say "unofficially" and "around" because Uncle Chichi's exact age is uncertain. What is certain is that Uncle Chichi, a toy poodle, was adopted in the late 1980s and was somewhere around 25 years old--give or a take a year--which is a remarkably advanced age for a dog no matter how you slice it. For a dog of Uncle Chichi's size, that's the equivalent of about 120 human years. Uncle Chichi had been suffering for age-related health problems for many years, but he soldiered on through the resulting blindness and deafness to reach an age that ...

Photo: Mary Lane / Reader's Digest As a puppy, ChiChi was rescued from abusive owners. Years later, at the ripe old age of 13, the Chihuahua-mix returned the favor by saving the lives of two elderly women in danger of drowning at a beach. This month, ChiChi was voted Reader's Digest Hero Pet of the Year. Before he became a hero, ChiChi had been living with cruel owners who thought it entertaining to beat, kick, and throw the little dog out of a moving car. Mary and Rick Lane's niece Heather saved the pup and soon moved in with her aunt and uncle in Greensboro, North Carolina, while attending a nearby college. Aunt Mary wasn't looking to bring a dog into her home, but when ChiChi ...