Since little dogs live significantly longer than great big dogs, do little people live longer than big ones too? Is someone who is four foot eight going to live longer than someone who is six foot two and if size is a factor in lifespan, how come rodents and rabbits only live a few years?
And on the other hand, I've read research studies showing that people who are lean have shorter lifespans than those of us who carry a few extra pounds (I love those studies - please pass the chocolate!). But I've seen nothing on height. However, within cultures, men (on average) are taller than women, yet generally have shorter lifespans. North American women are taller, on average, than Asian men yet Asian men live longer than North American women.
I guess to compare lifespans of big dogs and small dogs to big people and small people, you'd have to control for weight, diet, muscle-fat ratio, genetics, etc. Presumably a very fat small dog will not live as long as one who's weight is appropriate to its size - Copper, take note! (Carol, let's feed him LOTS of treats!!! LOL)
I must be a person with an off beat sense of humour or just must see the humour in everything you say Carol ... but I read this post and I laughed out loud.