Guinness World Records suspends Bobi’s recordThe oldest dog everand “The World’s Oldest Living Dog” after professionals questioned the legitimacy of the dog’s age.
In a statement shared by Guinness World Records to the Associated Press, they revealed that they had removed the dog from its titles while they currently conduct a formal review.
Additionally, while the review is ongoing, Guinness is sharing with the The Associated Press by email Tuesday January 16 that they decided to “pause temporarily” requests for both records (“Oldest Dog Alive” and “Oldest Dog Ever) until all their findings are in place.
Bobi, a purebred guard dog from Portugal, has been crowned by Guinness World Records as the “The oldest living dog in the world” and “The Oldest Dog Ever” in February 2023 at the age of 30.
The dog was able to celebrate his 31st birthday in May before unfortunately passing away in October of the same year.
When the dog died, some veterinarians and professionals questioned its age, leading to the Guinness World Record suspending the title and investigating the claim.
When the Guinness World Record announced Bobi’s record, it was revealed that his date of birth (May 11, 1992) had been confirmed and verified by the Veterinary Medical Service of the Municipality of Leiria and SIACa pet database authorized by the Portuguese government.
However, in December 2023, Wired refuted the claim about Bobi’s age saying the dog had “no inscription or data that can confirm or refute this assertion” in the Portuguese government’s pet database.
Additionally, Wired reveals that the database was not contacted by Guinness World Records to verify Bobi’s information.
The Associated Press also reports that Bobi’s owner, Leonel Costa, did not respond to any calls or text messages regarding Bobi’s age.