“30-Year-Old Dog From Portugal Named Oldest Living Dog”

• A 30-year-old dog has been crowned the oldest dog in the world, per the Guinness World Records.
• He stole the record from a 23-year-old dog named Spike.
• Bobi, the 30-year-old dog, has never been leashed and has eaten human food all his life, per GWR.

A 30-year-old dog named Bobi is officially the world’s oldest living dog.

Bobi, who is a Rafeiro do Alentejo, a purebred livestock guardian dog, has lived all of his 30 years and 271 days in the village of Conqueiros in western Portugal, the Guinness World Records, or GWR, announced on February 2. He has doubled his breed’s average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

 

Not only is he the oldest dog currently alive, Bobi is also the oldest dog ever to have lived, according to CNN. Bobi beat the previous record of 29 years and five months, held by an Australian cattle dog named Bluey who lived between 1910 and 1939.

Bobi was never supposed to reach his ripe old age. His owner, Leonel Costa, told GWR that his parents buried Bobi and his litter before they could open their eyes because they already had many dogs on their farm. Bobi managed to escape, and Costa and his brother kept him until he could open his eyes.

“We knew that when the dog opened its eyes, my parents would no longer bury it,” Costa said.

Costa told GWR the dog’s longevity could be credited to living in a peaceful environment. He’s never been chained up or leashed, and he’s been allowed to roam free in the forests around their house.

He has also always eaten the same food as his owners, but without the seasonings, Costa told GWR.

Bobi spends his days hanging out with four cats in the backyard. With a weakening eyesight and walking difficulties, he likes to rest by the fireplace and lie in bed after meals, Costa said to GWR.

Bobi took the world record from Spike, a 23-year-old Chihuahua who very briefly held the title of world’s oldest dog. Spike’s owner, Rita Kimball, found the dog when he was 10 years old in a parking lot of a grocery store and decided to take him home.

Spike is now almost blind, has bad hearing, and spends his days visiting cows, horses, and cats in Kimball’s town, she told GWR.