Efe

Updated Thursday, February 22, 2024-12:57

  • In Portugal The Guinness organization now doubts that Bobi was the oldest dog in the world

The

Guinness World Records

(GWR) organization announced this Thursday that it has withdrawn the title of the

oldest dog in the world

from the Portuguese mastiff

Bobi

, who died in October 2023 at supposedly 31 years old, after determining that "there is no conclusive evidence" about his age. that I had.

This decision comes after

Guinness

suspended applications for the titles of oldest living dog in the world and longest living dog in history in mid-January until doubts about Bobi, raised by several veterinarians who did not believe that I could have lived that long.

Given these complaints, the organization in charge of certifying world records decided

to open an investigation,

which has included the review of documents, search for new evidence and consultation with experts and the people who presented Bobi's candidacy.

In a statement, GWR Records Director Mark McKinley, who carried out the investigation, said that during his investigations, microchip information from the Portuguese Government's database, SIAC, was "central".

McKinley noted that when the chip was placed in 2022, no age testing was required for dogs born before 2008.

"With the additional veterinary statement provided as proof of Bobi's age that also cited microchip information, we ended up without any conclusive evidence that could definitively prove Bobi's date of birth," the GWR official noted.

And "

without any conclusive evidence

available to us today," he stressed, "we simply cannot leave Bobi as the record holder and honestly state that we maintain the high standards we have set for ourselves."

GWR added that Bobi's owner has been informed of the findings of this investigation.

Following the withdrawal of the record, McKinley indicated that

they are not yet in a position to declare a new holder of the title,

because "it will take a long time for the adoption of microchips around the world to reach dog owners, especially the most seniors".

Until that moment arrives, he anticipated that they will require candidates to provide proof of all the years of the dog's life, as well as the statements of veterinarians and witnesses.

Bobi was recognized in February 2023 with the Guinness record for the oldest dog in the world to date, a title that gave him worldwide fame and that motivated hundreds of people to visit him in the last months of his life.

Their breed, usually used to protect livestock from predators and known in Portugal as "rafeiro do Alentejo", has a life expectancy of about 13 years.

Bobi was registered since 1992 in the veterinary service of the municipality of Leiria and in the Portuguese national control system SIAC.

Before Bobi, the record for the oldest dog alive was held by Spike, a 23-year-old Chihuahua, while the record for the oldest to date was held by Bluey (1910-1939), an Australian Shepherd who lived to be 29 years old. and 5 months.