But did Bobi actually dwell to be 31?
On Tuesday, Guinness confirmed it had launched a “formal review” of Bobi’s title and would “temporarily pause” purposes for the information of each oldest residing canine and oldest canine ever. The investigation, which can embrace reviewing old proof, gathering new info and speaking with specialists, comes a month after Wired printed an article that raised doubts about Bobi’s age.
Bobi’s proprietor, Leonel Costa, couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. In a press release to the Associated PressCosta defended the canine’s title, which he mentioned Guinness had spent a yr confirming.
In January 2023, Guinness announced that, at greater than 23 years of age, Spike the Chihuahua combine was the oldest residing canine on this planet. His reign was short-lived. Two weeks later, after receiving new info, Guinness gave Spike’s newly minted crown to Bobi, who was 30 on the time, together with a extra sterling accolade. Not solely was Bobi the oldest residing pooch, Guinness proclaimed, he was the oldest ever, beating out a decades-old file held by Bluey, an Australian cattle canine who died in 1939 on the age of 29 years and 5 months.
In announcing Bobi’s Methuselah-like accomplishment, Guinness spoke with Costa, who advised the organization that Bobi was by no means imagined to dwell past just a few days. The canine and his littermates had been born in 1992, in accordance with Guinness, on the household farm in Portugal inside a building the place they saved wooden. Costa mentioned his father determined they already owned too many animals and euthanized the puppies.
But his father missed Bobi, who was quickly found by Costa, who was 8 on the time, in accordance with Guinness. He and his brothers saved {that a} secret from their dad and mom, revealing it solely after Bobi had opened his eyes, clearing the culturally accepted threshold for killing puppies, Guinness mentioned. He grew to become a part of the household, and over the years, roamed the farm, ate individuals meals and usually loved a “calm peaceful environment … far from the cities” — all of which his proprietor credited for his lengthy life.
After Bobi’s dying in October, Guinness printed an obituary of types commemorating his 11,478 days — a outstanding run for a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejoa breed native to Portugal that’s skilled to protect livestock and has a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.
But doubts about his age quickly bubbled up.
Days after the obituary, the Guardian quoted English veterinarian Danny Chambers, a council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, as saying that “not a single one of my veterinary colleagues believe Bobi was actually 31 years old.” Chambers mentioned that he sometimes comes throughout dogs that dwell into their late teenagers, however they are typically smaller breeds that, in contrast to Bobi, aren’t obese, which made it “even more surprising that he happened to live almost three times longer than average.”
“While my heart goes out to the owners who have lost a much-loved dog, this is the equivalent of a human living to well over 200 years old,” he mentioned in a press release to The Washington Post. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and so far no concrete evidence has been supplied.”
Costa, in a press release to the BBC, attributed the skepticism over Bobi’s longevity to his description of the canine’s weight loss plan, which he mentioned went towards veterinarians’ suggestions. Bobi ate “human food” as a substitute of pet meals, Costa advised Guinness.
“Everything would be different if we had said he ate pet food for three decades,” Costa advised the BBC.
Weeks later, Wired reported that the Sistema de Informação de Animais de Companhia, a Portuguese authorities database of pets, confirmed that Costa had registered Bobi in July 2022. Although the proprietor claimed on the time that the canine was born in 1992, no proof had been offered, in accordance with Wired.
When Costa spoke to Guinness final yr, he was requested concerning the secret to his canine’s extremely lengthy life. He gave just a few causes however in the end deferred to the file holder.
“If Bobi spoke,” he advised the organization, “only he could explain this.”
