WORLD’S OLDEST KNOWN DOG BOBI DIES AGED 31 (217 IN DOG YEARS)

Tue 24 October 2023:

Bobi, a Portuguese Rafeiro do Alentejo dog, was the world’s oldest dog when he passed away at the age of 31, or roughly 217 dog years.

Bobi’s owner, Leonel Costa, declared on Monday that the 31-year-old and 165-day-old dog had died over the weekend in a vet hospital.

Bobi, aged seven (1999)

“Despite outliving every dog in history, his 11,478 days on earth would never be enough for those who loved him,” said Karen Becker, a veterinarian who met Bobi several times and who was the first to announce his death on social media. “Godspeed, Bobi.”

One of the earliest tributes came from Guinness World Records, which said it was “saddened to learn of the death of Bobi, the world’s oldest dog ever”. Bobi was awarded the title of world’s oldest living dog in February this year, effortlessly snatching the crown from the paws of Spike the chihuahua, a young pretender from Ohio who was then a mere pup in comparison at the age of 23 years and seven days.

Some sad news to bring you this Monday morning 😢

Bobi recently celebrated his 31st birthday and was the oldest dog ever officially verified by Guinness World Records.

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) October 23, 2023

Bobi’s breed, commonly used as sheepdogs, typically live between 10 and 14 years. He was declared the world’s oldest dog in February of this year, and broke a former record held since 1939 by an Australian cattle dog that lived to be 29 years and five months old.

Bobi and one of his cat companions, Ceguinho (2022)

Bobi spent the entirety of his long life in the village of Conqueiros in central Portugal, and Costa said that his youthfulness could be attributed to a number of factors, including fresh countryside air and plenty of affection from those who loved him.

WORLD’S OLDEST DOG BOBI CELEBRATES HIS 31ST BIRTHDAY

Costa has attributed Bobi’s long life to the “calm, peaceful” environment in which he lived, to the fact that he always had the run of the land, and to the diet of the family’s dogs.

“What we ate, they ate too,” he said, adding that he did, however, soak Bobi’s food in water to remove seasonings.

Nature and nurture both appear to have played their part: Bobi’s mother, Gira, lived to 18, while another of Costa’s dogs, Chicote, made it to 22.

“We see situations like this as a normal result of the life that they have,” Costa said when his elderly companion scooped the title earlier this year. “But Bobi is one of a kind.”

Until Bobi’s death on Saturday, the planet’s most ancient recorded canine was Bluey, an Australian cattle-dog who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years 5 months.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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