Bobi, at 30 (alleged) years old, was crowned Guinness World Record “World’s Oldest Dog” in February 2023. He then passed away peacefully at his home in Portugal at the quote-unquote age of 31. Then fast forward to January 2024, with Bobi’s claim to fame being posthumously dug up by Guinness World Record (GWR,) who have paused Bobi’s record while they review how old the pooch actually is.
Update: On February 22, 2024, GWR released a statement concluding that Bobi is no longer the World’s Oldest Dog due to a lack of verifiable evidence to prove his age. Continue below for details on the investigation that led up to this stunning fall from grace.
This news comes as Wired Magazine published a bombshell investigation into Bobi’s true age. Wired calculated that at the time of his death, Bobi was 31 years and 163 days old. Which equals a staggering 217 “human” years. at 31 years old, Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, also lived twice as long as his breed’s expected 15-16 years. Wired followed up on the proof that GWR used to verify his age: His record with the SIAC, a Portuguese government database for pet registration. They discovered that their database is made up of what info pet owners submit… So Bobi’s owner just filled out a form saying his pup was born in 1992 – With no proof needed.
The Guardian also reported on this now-controversial canine, with people noticing that Bobi’s paws are white in his photo from 1999, but has only one white paw in the rest of his photos… The Guardian also spoke with Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, who represents over 18,000 vets, who said his organization is very skeptical of the claim.
The Guardian also spoke with Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Representing over 18,000 vets, Chambers had strong doubts about Bobi’s age.
Not a single one of my veterinary colleagues believe Bobi was actually 31 years old.
Danny Chambers, Council Member, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Wired goes on to report the SIAC told them the GWR never contacted them to verify Bobi’s age. They also spoke with Enikő Kubinyi, a dog longevity expert at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. Along with sharing data on elderly dogs, she also expressed serious doubts. She also decided to take a shot at poor Bobi’s weight.
Such rotund dogs rarely make it to extremely old ages.
Enikő Kubinyi, Dog Longevity Expert, Eötvös Loránd University
Ouch. Lets hope if Bobi is rolling over in his grave right now, that some angel is giving him a belly rub. Wired and The Guardian both reached out to Bobi’s human, but neither received a reply. If you’re interested in a conspiracy theory about “big dog food” lobbyists secretly being behind Bobi’s smear campaign because of Bobi’s owner claiming he only ate human food, make sure to check out Wired’s full investigation. You can also read our original article on Bobi being named the World’s Oldest Dog.