confirmation² from Guinness World Records." width="460" border="0" src="/upimg/090816/4_013143_1.jpg" />
Max, who is greying, has a veterinary birth certificate to prove his age and is awaiting official confirmation from Guinness World Records.

Max, the world's oldest dog, has celebrated³ his 26th birthday. In dog years the terrier-cross is 182, the equivalent of being born in 1827. He lives in Louisiana in the United States of America.

"I never spoiled Max," said his owner Janelle Derouen. "I've never fed him anything but Kibbles and Bits [brand of dog food] and a few treats like those beefy doggy bones.

"We don't give him any food from our table," added Janelle, 49, who lives with her husband Billy, also 49, in New Iberia.

Max, who is greying, has a veterinary birth certificate to prove his age and is awaiting official confirmation from Guinness World Records.

Janelle and Billy bought Max from a local sugar cane⁴ farmer in 1983. "He was the only one in the litter that was brown and I liked the colour so I took him home," said Janelle. Max has been visiting the same vet¹ since birth at the Robichaux Veterinary Clinic in New Iberia.

Until recently it was believed that Chanel, a geriatric Daschund-cross from New York was the oldest dog alive but Chanel, who turned 21 in May, is a full five years junior to Max.

Chanel is riddled⁵ with health problems, struggling desperately⁶ to see, walk and hear.

But Max is still in fine health and only suffers from mild arthritis⁷ and some cataracts⁸. His secret, says Janelle, is not worrying about anything at all.

"He's a very, very laid back dog," said Janelle. "He likes to lie down, relax, nap, sleep a lot and keep life simple. He'll play with the kids for a bit but if they bother him too long he'll wander off.

"He doesn't have any fancy toys, just a bit of rope and a regular squeaky ball."

Janelle and Billy held a special birthday party for Max on Sunday.

"We spoiled him just a little bit that once," said Janelle.

世界最长寿的狗马克斯刚刚过完26岁生日。按狗龄计算，生活在美国路易斯安那州的这条杂交犬已有182岁高龄了，相当于1827年出生。

狗主人詹妮尔•德劳恩说：“我从不溺爱马克斯。除了Kibbles and Bits牌的狗粮外，从不喂它其它吃的，偶尔犒劳它一下，比如赏它几根肉比较多的骨头啃啃。”

现年49岁的詹妮尔还说：“我们从不给它从饭桌上拿吃的。”她的丈夫比利也是49岁，他们生活在新伊比利亚市。

马克斯毛发呈灰色，他的动物出生证明足以证明它的年龄。目前马克斯正等待吉尼斯世界纪录的官方确认。

1983年，詹妮尔和比利在一名甘蔗农手中买下了马克斯。詹妮尔说：“那一窝小狗中，只有马克斯是棕色的。我喜欢棕色，所以我把它带回了家。”马克斯自从在新伊比利亚罗比查乌克斯兽医诊所出生后，就一直看同一名兽医。

今年5月，纽约年迈的杂交腊肠犬“香奈尔”迎来21岁生日。直到最近，人们还认为香奈尔是当世最长寿的狗。但香奈尔整整比马克斯小5岁。

香奈儿一直受健康问题困扰，视力、行动能力和听觉都严重衰退。

但马克斯仍然身强体壮，只患有轻微的关节炎和白内障。詹妮尔称它的长寿秘诀就是万事不操心。

詹妮尔说：“它过得实在是太悠哉了，喜欢躺着，休息，打盹，昏睡，过简单的生活。它也会和孩子们玩一会儿，但如果烦它太久，它就跑开了。”

“它也没什么有趣的玩具，只有一根绳子和一个常会吱吱响的球。”

詹妮尔和比利在上周日为马克斯举办了一场别开生面的生日宴会。

詹妮尔说：“和以往相比，我们对它有一点儿溺爱。”

vocabulary:

litter：a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth（一胎生下的小崽）

geriatric：of or pertaining to geriatrics, old age, or aged persons（衰老的）

laid back：free from stress; easygoing（懒洋洋的，悠闲的）