Bobby, the world’s oldest dog, died last week at an animal hospital in Portugal. Guinness World Records announced on Monday.
“Bobby lived 31 years and 165 days and spent his entire life with his loving owner Lionel Costa and his family in the Portuguese village of Conqueiros,” the record company said in a press release.
Bobby was recognized as the oldest dog in February this year, two weeks after being named a 23-year-old Chihuahua. Spike Tried to get the title. His death makes Ohio-born Spike the oldest dog ever.
In dog years, Bobby is about 86 years old. He is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a Portuguese farm and guard dog with a lifespan of 12 to 14 years.
According to Guinness, his age was confirmed by a 1992 registration with a veterinary service in Leiria, Portugal, and a pet database owned by the Portuguese government.
Bobby was born with four puppies, but the other three were put down by owner Lionel Costa’s parents because the farm already had too many animals.
“Back then it was considered normal for old people to bury animals in a hole,” Lionel said in an interview with Guinness.
Costa said he hid Bobby from his parents after discovering the dog was hiding in a log from the fate of his siblings. When Costa’s parents found out, it was too late to put Bobby down.
According to Costa, Bobby was never tied up or handled, never drank a lot of water, and ate exclusively human food. Costa attributes Bobby’s aging to his “calm, quiet” life.
For Bobby’s 31st birthday in May, his owner threw him a traditional Portuguese birthday party with more than 100 guests, according to Guinness.
