UPDATE [24/10/2023]: Itโs a sad day, folks. And half mast will certainly be too damn high.
Bobi, the senior canine who earned the Guinness World Record for oldest living dog just months ago, has passed away peacefully at his home in Portugal.
Born on May 11th of 1992, this purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo managed to reach 31 years and 165 days. A full and ostensibly happy life before crossing the rainbow bridge.
โDespite outliving every dog in history, his 11,478 days on earth would never be enough, for those who loved him,โ announced Dr Karen Becker, a veterinarian whoโd met Bobi on several occasions.
A successor for the new worldโs oldest dog has yet to be named.
Read more about Bobiโs story in the original article below.
Original Article โ Bobi The Portuguese Pup Breaks Guinness Record For Worldโs Oldest Dog
Weeks after a chihuahua mix rescue from the US named Spike was declared the worldโs oldest dog, a rival senior canine from Portugal known as Bobi has officially snaked the Guinness record.
Born on May 11th of 1992, this purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo โ a breed of livestock guardian dog native to Southern Portugal โ is 30 years and 272 days old at the time of this articleโs publishing.
Not only does this shatter the century-old record of Bluey (1910-1939) โ an Australian cattle dog who lived to be 29 years and five months old โ but also greatly exceeds the average life expectancy of Rafeiro do Alentejos: 12 to 14 years.
Whatโs even more miraculous about this entire story is how Bobi narrowly escaped the depressing fate of his littermates shortly after being birthed in an outbuilding where his owners, the Costa family, stored wood.
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โI was eight years old. My father was a hunter, and we always had many dogs,โ said Leonel Costa, now aged 38.
Due to the number of animals they already owned, however, Leonelโs father decided the puppies had to go. And in quite a callous fashion.
โUnfortunately, at that time, it was considered normal by older people who could not have more animals at homeโฆ to bury the animals in a hole so that they would not survive.โ
Thankfully, Leonelโs parents missed Bobi in their haste, the latter apparently disguised amongst the wood thanks to his fur colouring. Leonel and his brothers decided to keep Bobiโs existence a secret in order to help the lone newborn survive.
Lionel Costa added: โWe knew that when the dog opened its eyes, my parents would no longer bury it. It was popular knowledge that this act could not or should be done.โ
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โI confess that when they found out that we already knew, they screamed a lot and punished us, but it was worth it and for a good reason!โ
So whatโs the secret to Bobiโs longevity?
Enjoying a relatively trouble-free life โ aside from those hairy first chapters and โone big scareโ back in 2018, when he was hospitalised after suddenly collapsing due to breathing difficulties โ Lionel chalks it up for a โcalm, peaceful environmentโ far away from the cities. Rural life, as it were.
According to the Guinness World Records, Bobi has never been chained up nor even attached to a leash, free-roaming the forests and farmland surrounding the Costa family estate, as well as being โvery sociableโ amongst a whole variety of animals. These days, this simply entails hanging around his four cat friends in the backyard.
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Bobiโs diet, on the other hand, has always consisted of โhuman food.โ
โWhat we ate, they ate too. Between a can of animal food or a piece of meat, Bobi doesnโt hesitate and chooses our food,โ said Lionel Costa, noting Bobi lies in bed after meals these days; by the fire on colder days.
Leonel apparently takes the extra precaution of soaking Bobiโs food in water beforehand to remove most of the seasonings.
On the subject of water, hydration appears to be another key factor (โHe drinks a lot of water โ about one litre per day โ making him urinate several times.โ).
Despite this, as you can imagine, the worldโs oldest dog is certainly getting on.
With trouble walking and worsening eyesight, Lionel says Bobi is the โlast of a long generation of animalsโ in his family. But considering everything weโve learned, itโs been a life well lived for the beloved four-legged companion.
