'Gentle giant' named Kevin is now the world's tallest dog

The world has a new record holder for being the tallest dog on earth.

His name is Kevin, he's a Great Dane and he hails from The Hawkeye State.

According to Guinness World Records, the 3-year-old big boy stands a whopping 3 feet, 2 inches tall.

Kevin was officially verified as the world’s tallest March 20, the global authority on all things record-breaking reported Thursday.

The dog lives in West Des Moines, Iowa with his human parents Tracey and and Roger Wolfe, and his human siblings Alexander and Ava.

According to Guinness, three dogs, four cats, and a slew of chickens, goats, and horses also live with Kevin at the family home.

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Dog is named after 'Home Alone' movie

According to a press release from Guinness, Kevin joined the family after they lost their late Great Dane and a friend posted about the last Great Dane of a recent litter who needed a home.

He is named after the character Kevin from the hit 1990 Christmas movie "Home Alone," according to the release.

"He lives like a Kevin!” Wolfe said, recalling the Great Dane grew quickly, “not out, but up!”

Kevin is 'the epitome of a gentle giant'

Despite his size, Tracy Wolfe called Kevin “the epitome of a gentle giant" and said he gets along great with other dogs - even small ones.

Kevin, Wolfe said, can even sometimes be a scaredy-cat.

"He is terrified of the vacuum," she said. "He won't let it come within 6 feet of him! He will jump and run to get away from it.”

Although other dogs are hesitant to be around Kevin at first, Kevin's mom said he soon makes them feel at ease.

"He’s been known to crouch and crawl to make himself appear smaller and less intimidating," Wolfe said.

Previous record holder was Great Dane named Zeus

Zeus, another Great Dane from Texas, previously held the Guinness record for the world's tallest living dog.

The 3-year-old dog, owned by Brittany Davis, died in September after developing pneumonia following an amputation and bone cancer diagnosis.

He stood 3 feet, 5.18 inches tall.

As of Thursday, the shortest living dog was a Chihuahua named Pearl, according to Guinness. The tiny pup measures 3.59 inches tall and 5 inches in length − about the size of a dollar bill.

Pearl weighs 1.22 pound and is the niece of previous title holder Milly, a 1-pound Chihuahua born in 2011, who died in 2020.

Contributing: Olivia Munson and Liam Gravvat

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.