World’s oldest dog, Bobi, passes away at age 31 in Portugal

The oldest dog in the world, Bobi, passed away in Portugal on Monday at the age of 31.

 

Bobi was a purebred Rafeiro Alentejano that lived all of his life in a village in central Portugal. Bobi’s life span of 31 years and 165 days broke the previous record of 29 years and 5 months held by an Australian cow dog.

 

‘Despite outliving every dog in history, his 11,478 days on earth would never be enough for those who loved him,’ said Karen Becker, a veterinarian who had multiple encounters with Bobi and was the first to share the news of his passing online. ‘Godspeed, Bobi.’

 

In February of this year, he was recognised as the oldest dog in the world. The typical lifespan of Bobi’s breed, which has historically been used as sheepdogs, is 12 to 14 years.

 

His owner, Leonel Costa, credited him with living a long life with a number of things, including not being shackled or kept on a leash and always eating ‘human food.’

 

Costa’s family had many animals and little money at the time Bobi was born, so his hunter father typically buried newborn puppies rather than keeping them.

 

However, Bobi hid among some firewood. A few days later, Costa and his brothers found him and kept him hidden until the puppy opened his eyes.

 

According to Costa, ‘We knew that when he opened his eyes, my parents wouldn’t be able to bury him,’ he told Reuters earlier this year.

 

Bobi still enjoyed going for walks, but he was less daring before he died. He need more rest than usual because his fur was thinning, his eyesight had gotten weaker, and so on.

 

Bobi’s story has previously been referred to as ‘miraculous’ by Guinness World Records, which also stated on Monday that ‘he will be sorely missed.’ At his 31st birthday party in May, more than 100 guests attended, it stated.