Britain’s ‘biggest dog’ Balthazar who weighed the same as baby elephant has died

August 20, 2023

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A dog that weighed the same as a baby elephant and dubbed Britain's biggest has passed away, leaving his owners heartbroken.

The massive Great Dane named Balthazar was a whopping seven feet long, weighed 16 stone and was a one time Judge Reiner star.

The humongous hound had to be put to sleep after his back legs could no longer support his weight, leaving his owners forced to make the heart-wrenching decision to put him out of his misery, The Sun reports.

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Balthazar's owner, Dixie Monte-Irvine, from Nottingham, described her beloved pet as a gentle giant.

She said: “He was the most calm and gentle dog. Everyone who met him fell in love with him. He has left a huge hole in all our hearts."

After Balthazar was crowned the unofficial biggest dog in Britain by SunOnline in 2017, the huge pooch drew attention from around the world, including from Judge Reiner's researchers who wanted the dog to star on the show.

Dixie said the researchers wanted to know if Balthazar had any claims against him, adding: "in the end they settled on the fact that he had eaten a couple of pairs of my then husband’s Timberland boots."

The 45-year-old prison officer went on to say that that was enough to get Balthazar onto the show where he was a "natural".

She said: “He walked into the court and gave my husband a look of utter disgust. Judge Rinder described him as a ‘giant, humping dog with a penchant for leather’. It immortalized him.”

Dixie said that when Balthazar was a pup he was so small he could crawl into her pocket.

She added: "He was so gentle. We have three cats, Buffy, Luna and Fifi, who would sleep between his giant legs and go on walks with him.

“He was like the leader of the pack and when he died our Bengal cat just walked around the house howling. It was heart-breaking for all of us.

“Our other dog, Luna, became so sick with sadness that she lost a lot of weight and looked like nobody cared for her."

Dixie said that Luna's behaviour was depression and that only another dog could help her out of it.

Dixie added: "I just burst out crying. I could not handle another dog so soon after losing Balthazar".

Unfortunately, Balthazar was never officially crowned Britain's biggest dog as by the time his owners realised he was record-breaking huge, the dog's hind legs couldn't support him.

"In the end it was his enormous size that caused his death", said Dixie, "The vet said that all his organs were healthy but he kept collapsing as one of his back legs could not hold his weight."

With a smaller dog, a vet could have amputated the back legs and allow the animal to carry on living, however Dixie explained that treating Balthazar was more like treating a horse, so losing his hind legs proved fatal.

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