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Guinness World Records on Thursday shared some paw-ful news: Bobi the Portuguese mastiff has been posthumously stripped of his “world’s oldest dog” title.
The decision came after months of hounding from veterinarians and skeptics who questioned whether it was really possible for a dog to live to 31 years and five months old, as Bobi’s owner had claimed at the time of the pooch’s death in October.
For the record, that would make Bobi over 200 in “dog years.”
A new statement from Guinness World Records officials said the organization “no longer has the evidence it needs to support Bobi’s claim as the record holder.”
Bobi’s title was temporarily stripped last month after a representative from the Portuguese government database used to register and track pet information in the country, called SIAC, could not verify Bobi’s real age. Prior to 2020, SIAC did not require pet owners in the country to publicly register their dogs if they were born before 2008. Even then, it was not necessary for owners to submit proof of their pets age to the national database.
When Bobi’s owner, Leonel Costa, registered Bobi with SIAC, he said the purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo was born in 1992.
The average lifespan of a dog is 10 to 13 years. For Bobi’s breed specifically, most Rafeiro do Alentejo live to be less than half Bobi’s alleged age, with a lifespan typically between 12 and 14 years.
Costa earlier attributed Bobi’s unnatural longevity to a rural, free-range lifestyle and a healthy diet of unseasoned “human food.”
Costa has not commented publicly on Bobi’s title loss.
Mark McKinley, the director of records for Guinness, said the organization takes “tremendous pride” in ensuring the accuracy of their record titles.
“Following concerns raised by vets and other experts, both privately as well as within public commentary, and the findings of investigations conducted by some media outlets, we felt it important to open a review into Bobi’s record,” he said.
McKinley explained that the recordkeeper requires numerous witness statements, approval from subject matter experts, and other related data in order to hand out a title.
In Bobi’s case, much of this initial “proof” came in the form of data sourced from SIAC. Though the pooch was registered and microchipped in 2022, without any viable evidence of Bobi’s age, Guinness World Records said they were “left with no conclusive evidence which can definitively prove Bobi’s date of birth.”
The recordkeeper said it would happily review any new information that might help bolster Bobi’s case.
Before Bobi, an Australian cattle dog named Bluey held the record for the oldest dog to ever live. Bluey, born in 1910, was 29 years and five months at the time of his death in 1939.
It is not yet clear if the title will return to Bluey, or if a new pooch will take the age crown.
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