Doubts about the age of world’s oldest dog Bobi

Sensational claims about the world’s oldest dog have emerged as the Guinness World Records temporarily strips him of his title.

Bobi is thought to be the world’s oldest dog aged 31.

Sensational claims about the world’s oldest dog have emerged as the Guinness World Records temporarily strips him of his title and announces a formal review.

The Portuguese pooch Bobi, who had lived his entire life with the Costa family in the rural Portuguese village of Conqueiros, died last year in October age 31.

Bobi’s death made international headlines, officially crowned the world’s oldest dog in 2020.

But there have been lingering doubts about the veracity of his age.

Sources cited by British and US media said Bobi’s feet appeared to be a different colour in photos of him as a puppy and snaps of him in his final days.

Now the Guinness World Records has decided to act on those doubts.

“While our review is ongoing we have decided to temporarily pause both the record titles for Oldest Dog Living and [Oldest Dog] Ever just until all of our findings are in place,” a spokesman said.

Bobi, a Portuguese pooch, lived to 31.

He insisted the suspension was “temporary, while [the review] is ongoing”.

Bobi was a livestock guardian dog which has an average life expectancy of 12-14 years, so the fact he lived to 31 certainly raised eyebrows.

However, his story has always been an unusual one.

He was born as one of four male pups, in an outbuilding where the Costa family stored wood.

“I was eight years old,” said Bobi’s owner Leonel Costa, now aged 38. “My father was a hunter, and we always had many dogs.”

Due to the number of animals they already owned, Mr Costa’s father decided they couldn’t keep the newborn puppies.

There have long been questions about Bobi’s actual age.

The dog’s lifespan has defied expectations.

“Unfortunately, at that time it was considered normal by older people who could not have more animals at home … to bury the animals in a hole so that they would not survive,” she explained.

The day after the puppies were born, Ms Costa’s parents entered the room and quickly took them while their mother, Gira, was absent.

However, in their haste, they didn’t realise that they’d left one behind.

Mr Costa said he and his brothers were very sad over the following days, however, they noticed that Gira continued to visit the outbuilding where her puppies were born.

“We found the situation strange, because if the animals were no longer there, why would she go there?” he said.

They decided to follow Gira on one of her trips, when they discovered Bobi. He had luckily evaded the same fate as his siblings as he was disguised among all the wood.

Mr Costa and his brothers decided to keep Bobi’s existence a secret.

“We knew that when the dog opened its eyes, my parents would no longer bury it,” Leonel explained. “It was popular knowledge that this act could not or should be done.”

Bobi in 1999.

Bobi with a feline friend in 2022.

It usually takes one to two weeks for newborn puppies to open their eyes for the first time; they can only do so once their central nervous system has developed and their eyes have fully formed.

When Mr Costa’s parents eventually discovered Bobi, it was too late – the young pup had already opened his eyes. Bobi was now part of the family.

“I confess that when they found out that we already knew, they screamed a lot and punished us, but it was worth it and for a good reason,” he said.

The previous oldest dog was Bluey, an Australian cattle dog.

She lived to 29 years, 5 months, before being euthanised.