The world’s longest living dog may posthumously lose his title after investigators found his 31 year longevity could have been faked.
Bobi, who lived in Portugal, was said to have been 30 years and 268 days old when he was named the world’s oldest by Guinness World Records last February.
He died in October 2023 at the reported age of 31 years and 163 days but doubts have now been raised over whether he really was the oldest canine ever – despite his birth having being confirmed by the Portuguese government’s pet database and the National Union of Veterinarians.
Bobi was a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed of livestock guardian dog with an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.
But following his crowning sceptics quizzed why photographs of the pooch as a puppy showed his brown paws as white.
Guinness World Records has now withdrawn the title whilst they investigate.
A spokeswoman said: “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.”
An investigation by Wired magazine found Bobi had only been registered on the Portuguese government’s pet database in 2022.
At the time Bobi’s owner had declared the pet had been born in 1992, but an official for the database stated it had “no registration or data that can confirm or deny this statement.”
If Bobi’s age has been exaggerated then the crown could pass to Spike, a living chihuahua from Ohio, who briefly held the crown last January at the age of 23 years.
For Spike’s initial verification, his owner Rita Kimball provided Guinness World Records with vet records and bills that placed his date of birth in 1999 as well as photos of him through the years.
However she said she had not had him since he was a puppy and she found him in 2009 in a car park which may also not be enough for official ratification, the organisation told her.