Guinness World Records introduced Thursday that it now not considers Bobi—a purportedly 31-year-old canine that died in October—the oldest canine that ever lived.
The superannuated Rafeiro do Alentejo who lived in Portugal was given the title of “world’s oldest dog” in February 2023, however the data organization launched a evaluation final month after some veterinarians questioned Bobi’s age. After combing by means of the proof, GWR concluded there’s no manner it might probably definitively show how old he was.
The choice to posthumously take the accolade away from Bobi—who was given his title when he was supposedly 31 years and 165 days old—got here right down to microchip knowledge taken from an official Portuguese authorities database. The knowledge was on the coronary heart of Bobi’s declare to being the oldest canine ever, nevertheless it emerged that the chipping didn’t require proof of age for dogs born earlier than 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,” Mark McKinley, GWR’s director of data, mentioned in a statement. “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.”
After Bobi’s demise, a Wired investigation in December discovered that Portugal’s pet database had registered Bobi as having been born in 1992, however they held “no registration or data that can confirm or deny this statement.” Other outlets had earlier reported on vets elevating doubts about his age and on-line scrutiny surrounding pictures which appeared to point out him having completely different coloured paws in pictures taken in 1999 in contrast with the hue they’d when he died final yr.
When the GWR launched its evaluation, Bobi’s proprietor Leonel Costa advised the BBC that “an elite within the veterinary world” had “tried to give people the idea that Bobi’s life story was not true.” He additionally speculated that the scrutiny round Bobi’s actual age was a part of a backlash in opposition to his claims that his pet had lived so lengthy as a result of he fed him human meals relatively than pet food.
“Everything would be different if we had said he ate pet food for three decades,” Costa mentioned.
