‘World’s oldest dog’ stripped of Guinness title after controversy

Bobi, who was crowned the world’s oldest dog, has had his title stripped from him following controversy around his real age.

Bobi, who lived in Portugal, was said to have been 30 years and 268 days old when he was named the world’s oldest by Guinness World Records (GWR) last February.

In October 2023, he died at the reported age of 31 years and 165 days.

But last month the GWR launched an investigation into the Portuguese canine after doubts were raised over his real age.

The probe came despite his birth apparently being confirmed by the Portuguese government’s pet database and the National Union of Veterinarians.

Bobi was a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed of livestock guardian dog with an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

When Bobi was crowned the world’s oldest canine, it broke a record held since 1939 by an Australian cattle dog that died at 29 years and five months.

The GWR has now said it has no conclusive evidence that Bobi lived that long.

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Mark McKinley, director of records at GWR, said in a statement that microchip data sourced from the official Portuguese database had been central to Bobi’s evidence, but it turned out the chipping did not require proof of age for dogs born before 2008.

“With the additional veterinary statement provided as evidence for Bobi’s age also citing this microchip data, we’re left with no conclusive evidence which can definitively prove Bobi’s date of birth,” he wrote.

“Without any conclusive evidence available to us right now, we simply can’t retain Bobi as the record holder and honestly claim to maintain the high standards we set ourselves.”

Bobi lived his entire life with Leonel Costa and his family in the rural village of Conqueiros in Portugal.

Mr Costa did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In an emailed statement in January, his owner defended the title, saying Guinness World Records had spent a year checking the record claim.

Source : Sky News : https://news.sky.com/story/guinness-world-records-oldest-dog-bobi-stripped-of-title-13078220