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Animals
Diba Mohtasham, NPR

Guinness World Records posthumously strips Bobi of his title of 'oldest dog ever'

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Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo Portuguese dog, poses for a photo with his Guinness World Records certificates for the oldest dog ever, at his home in Conqueiros, central Portugal, on May 20, 2023.
Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo Portuguese dog, poses for a photo with his Guinness World Records certificates for the oldest dog ever, at his home in Conqueiros, central Portugal, on May 20, 2023.
Jorge Jeronimo/AP

The Guinness World Records didn't let sleeping dogs lie when the group announced on Thursday that the former "oldest dog ever" will be stripped of his title.

According to its review and appeals process, Guinness concluded that it no longer has the evidence to support that Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo from Portugal, can claim the record.

It was claimed that Bobi lived to be 31 years and 165 days old, equivalent to approximately 220 canine years, when he died in October 2023. Typically, the breed lives between 12 to 14 years.

Mark McKinley, Guinness' director of records, conducted the review.

"We take tremendous pride in ensuring as best we can the accuracy and integrity of all our record titles," McKinley said in the press release. "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 added that Bobi's microchip data, which was sourced from the Portuguese government database and used as central evidence to prove his birthdate, was inconclusive. Microchipping for dogs only became mandatory in Portugal in 2008.

"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," said McKinley.

Guinness did not say who the new record holder might be. Before Bobi, the record holder for oldest dog ever was Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who died in 1939 at 29 years and five months.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.