Meet Bobi: The brief reign of the world’s oldest dog

Bobi, a Portuguese mastiff from Conqueiros (central Portugal), made headlines as the world’s oldest dog ever at 31. Bobi won a Guinness World Record for this milestone, but controversy arose over his age following an article in Wired magazine. The Guinness organization has now withdrawn Bobi’s award due to insufficient evidence.

A dog’s life expectancy varies depending on size and breed. According to National Geographic magazine, smaller dogs like Chihuahuas typically live to 16 years or older. The current world record holder after Bobi’s demise is a 23-year-old Chihuahua. A medium-sized Portuguese mastiff like Bobi has a life expectancy of around 12 years.

Matt Reynolds, author of the Wired article, questioned how Guinness World Records verified Bobi’s age. The only official information source was the Companion Animal Information System (SIAC), a Portuguese government database where Bobi’s birth was recorded as 1992, although the system was created in 2008. SIAC confirmed Bobi’s age based solely on his owner Leonel Costa’s statement. Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the U.K., told The Guardian, “not a single one of my veterinary colleagues believe Bobi was actually 31 years old.”

Speaking to the Associated Press, Leonel Costa stood by his story, stating he found Bobi as a puppy in 1992 and had photos to prove it. Costa also said that officials from Guinness World Records took a year to confirm the dog’s age. Costa told the Associated Press that the secret to Bobi’s long life was good food, fresh air and lots of love. “Bobi eats what we eat,” said Costa, sparking debate in the vet community.

Asked about feeding dogs human food, Víctor Fernández Fraile, president of the Madrid Association of Pet Veterinarians (AMVAC), said dog food is formulated with the right nutrients for different animals based on their “age, activity level and health condition.” Feeding dogs human food without understanding their nutritional needs can be harmful, says Fernández.

The scientific nutrition committee of the Association of Spanish Veterinarians for Small Animals (AVEPA) said, “Before the first commercial dog food appeared, dogs were fed leftovers. Even though it was human food, it had many nutritional deficiencies and toxins.”

Journalist Imogen West-Knights, who has covered Guinness World Records for years, wrote a column about how she was “touched by the formal, goofy dignity of it all... Does any of this matter? Plainly, by many criteria, no. Yet here we are, in a world where a formal review is being undertaken into the case of this ambiguously old dog... Nobody (the dog in question excepted) lives or dies on the result of an investigation like this.”

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