Bobi, a Portuguese dog who has reached the age of 30 years and 266 days, was crowned as the World’s Oldest Dog on February 1, after breaking an almost century-old record. The record had previously been held by a cattle dog named Bluey, who was born in 1910 and lived for 29 years and five months.
It is also worth noting that Bobi has also displaced Spike, a 23-year-old chihuahua mix, as the oldest living dog just weeks after the title had been awarded to Spike.
Bobi is an Alentejo Rafeiro do purebred known for protecting property and livestock. The average life expectancy of these dogs is between 12 and 14 years, however, Bobi has lived twice as long and will even live a little longer.
During the past three decades, Bobi has lived in Conqueiros, a small Portuguese village, for most of his life. Although he almost didn’t survive beyond infancy, Leonel Costa, his owner, told Guinness World Records (GWR).
Bobi’s long life has been attributed to his diet of unseasoned human food, his freedom to roam through forests and farmland near his home and the calm countryside where he was raised. Bobi has lived a relatively healthy life with the exception of one health scare in 2018 according to Costa.
“Of course, our love and affection throughout his life has also helped,” Costa said to reporters from Reuters in an interview.
It has been verified that the dog has lived for over three decades by the Portuguese government-authorized pet database SIAC, which is managed by the National Union of Veterinarians.
As reported by GWR, Bobi’s birth date was also confirmed by the Veterinary Medical Service of the Municipality of Leiria.
Watch the video below to see more about Bobi:
