Farewell to World’s Oldest Pooch

Uncle Chichi, the toy poodle who lived in the West Village and was at least 24 (maybe even 26 years old) has gone to doggie heaven.

“We just feel completely empty; the whole apartment’s empty,” Frank Pavich, ChiChi’s person said.

Pavitch adopted ChiChi in Charleston, South Carolina 24 years ago, and veterinarians at the time put his age between 1 and 2. Any vet records or photos that would have proved ChiChi’s age to the Guinness Book of World Records have been lost. The “official” oldest dog, Pusuke, who lived in Japan, died in December at 26.

In his last years, ChiChi had gone blind and deaf, but he continued to enjoy life – especially playing play fetch. The Pavitches, who brought ChiChi to their wedding in Croatia, took him around the world the last few years of his life.

“The more time we spent with him, the more and more we loved him,” Pavitch said. “We didn’t know that was possible. He wasn’t your average dog. He kind of transcended that.”

Here’s the family together when they appeared on Good Morning America: