Molosser Moment #9

Hercules the Mastiff.

Almost a decade ago, a double-taker of a photo (above) started making the email rounds, labeled “Hercules, the World’s Biggest Dog.” But Hercules (left) is an English Mastiff from Massachusetts whose 282-pound weight got him into Guinness World Records; he’s not a Neapolitan Mastiff with a penchant for ponies. Mistaken identity aside, the question that dogs this photo (and a couple more supposedly taken that day, see below) is whether it is real, or simply a clever Photoshop job. A comparison of the dog’s forearms and head to the corresponding body parts of the man beside him tells the story: One Internet pundit calculated that a dog of this size would have to weigh between 600 and 700 pounds, a physical impossibility. (Also, there are some graphic oopses: Look at the sloppy Photoshopping that munched away part of the man's right hip bone.) Size really does matter, it appears: Why else would someone make such an effort to create this hoax?