GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS’ ‘OLDEST EVER DOG’ BOBI STRIPPED OF TITLE AFTER INVESTIGATION

Fri 23 February 2024:

Bobi, who was proclaimed the world’s oldest dog, had his title revoked due to debate over his true age.

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

He died in October 2023, at the stated age of 31 years and 165 days.

However, the GWR initiated an investigation against the Portuguese canine this month when questions were raised about his true age.

Soon after the news of his unprecedented age hit headlines around the world, vets and dog experts expressed their suspicions that a dog would be able to live that long.

“This is the equivalent of a human living to over 200 years old which, given our current medical capabilities, is completely implausible. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and no concrete evidence has been provided to prove his age,” Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, told The Guardian at the time.

Guinness World Records said that following the concerns, it launched an investigation to review the accuracy of the dog’s ripe old age.

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According to the investigation, there simply was not enough evidence to back the claims of Bobi’s owners.

“Central to Bobi’s evidence was microchip data sourced from the Portuguese government database, the SIAC, which it transpires, when chipped in 2022, did not require proof of age for dogs born before 2008,” Director of Records Mark McKinley said in a statement.

Further, the veterinary statement used to support Bobi’s title was also based on the microchip information, which could have been invented.

McKinley further said, 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.

“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.”

“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.

McKinley added that the organization is unable to crown a new oldest dog for now.

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Instead of accepting only microchip evidence, which still has not “caught up with pet ownership, especially of elderly pets,” he said Guinness will require other documentary evidence for a pet’s age.

“We certainly hope that the publicity around the record title encourages pet owners from around the world to get in touch,” he added.

Bobi’s previous owner, Leonel Costa, was informed of the decision but has yet to comment publicly.

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.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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