A dog owner believes her pup has the biggest nose in the world after discovering that it measures at a whopping 12 inches long.
Adorable images show Eris, the two-year-old large-nosed borzoi, frolicking in the garden, proudly posing for the camera whilst wearing a dandelion in her hair and playing with her toys.
Other photos show the sheer length of her sizable schnoz which spans a whopping 12.2 inches, and a family portrait taken on her recent birthday.
Woah nelly! An adorable dog called Eris is taking social media by storm with her incredibly long nose
Impressive: The pup’s nose measures an incredible 12.2 inches, and her owner believes it may be the longest in the world
‘Eris was born to a litter of three in Keysville, Virginia. When we went to go visit the puppies, it was apparent they might have an overbite,’ said Lily.
‘This would rule them out for any dog shows as it is a genetic defect. But that didn’t bother us. She came right up to us and sat on my partner’s lap.
‘We get stopped a lot when we are walking Eris because most people are trying to figure out what breed she is, but we’ve started finding paths through the neighborhood where we can actually get a walk done.’
The name of the breed translates to ‘fast’ in Russian, where they are also known as wolfhounds. From nose to tail, Eris spans four-feet-nine-inches, with her nose being a foot long.
Fitting: Named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord, the canine’s full title is jokingly ‘Madam Eris Overbite, Queen of Snoots’
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Stand out: Lily says that she often gets stopped while walking Eris because people are so interested by her unique looks
Lean lady: From nose to tail, Eris spans four-feet-nine-inches, with her nose being a foot long
Borzoi’s are ranked 103rd in popularity among the 192 dog breeds listed by the American Kennel Club in 2018. Lily and Eris haven’t yet met another borzoi in person but remain in hope.
Whilst the length of her elongated sniffer is unverified, the super-snouted sighthound has plenty of time to become an official world-record holder, as borzois can live for up to 15 years.
‘We were warned when she was a puppy that she may be having dental issues, where the teeth would poke into the gums and she may have needed canines removed,’ Lily added.
‘But she just sort of grew past it. There are no issues from her long nose, she drops food everywhere but so do I. We’ll give her like a marrow bone and she will chew on that forever in comparison to other dogs who would eat the treat very quickly.
‘She is so happy to see people and other dogs, but can get very skittish around very small dogs. Sometimes she gets grumpy but it is so goofy and lovely because borzoi are very quiet. I don’t think we’ve heard her actually bark.
‘While we just started the page as a scrapbook, we’ve come to love being a part of the Instagram dog community. It is so friendly, and we’re really thrilled to be a part of it.’
Looking ahead: Lily and her partner Savannah have not yet had the potentially record-winning length of Eris’s nose verified but they say they would be open to it
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Social media sensation: The mega-famous mutt has earned an impressive Instagram fan club with her lengthy snout – and now boasts hundreds of thousands of followers
Cheeky: ‘She’s very good at sticking her nose into very small gaps between couches, fences, or people enjoying a meal at a table, so certainly her pointed nose is advantageous,’ Lily said
A 2015 American Psychological Association study found no relationship with a worsened, or enhanced sense of smell among dolichocephalic dog breeds, those which have long skulls that include borzois.
In the last six months, creative jeweler Mrs Kambourian has started a limited run of Eris merchandise with a small local business, and is hoping for a more permanent offering post-lockdown.
‘All of the professionals that interact with Eris are very sweet, and any mentions to her snoot are made more towards her than us, and along the lines of, “Oh what a beautiful nose you have,”‘ she recalled.
‘She is very good at sticking her nose into very small gaps between couches, fences, or people enjoying a meal at a table – so certainly her pointed nose is advantageous there.
‘We hadn’t really considered having records keepers verify Eris, though we wouldn’t be against doing such a thing after the world was more normal. But we’re not entirely sure how to go about that, to be honest!’
The mega-famous mutt has earned an impressive Instagram fan club with her lengthy snout – and now boasts hundreds of thousands of followers.