You may have seen similar news several times in recent months, but it’s true — there is yet another titleholder for Guinness World Records’ oldest living dog. Meet Bobi! This well-cared-for senior dog recently dethroned Spike the Chihuahua as the oldest living dog in the world… but that’s not all. Bobi is also the oldest dog ever recorded. At 30 years and nearly 270 days old, according to Guinness World Records’ Twitter account, the pooch from Portugal has no idea just how special he is!
We have a feeling he’ll get used to being a bit of a celebrity, though. Bobi already enjoys lots of attention and human food at his countryside home, where several of his family’s other pets have lived amazingly long lives.
https://twitter.com/GWR/status/1620936535188340737
Meet Bobi, the Guinness World Record holder for the oldest dog ever recorded
Bobi’s owner, 38-year-old Leonel Costa, first met (and later rescued) Bobi when he was only 8 years old (via Guinness). The Rafeiro do Alentejo pup had been born to one of his family’s livestock guardian dogs, and shortly after birth, only narrowly escaped a tragic fate.
“Unfortunately, at that time, it was considered normal by older people who could not have more animals at home […] to bury the animals in a hole so that they would not survive,” Leonel told Guinness. Bobi, however, was hidden in the stacks of wood near where he was born.
Leonel and his brother managed to hide the puppy until his eyes were open — when he would be considered too old to be buried alongside his siblings. Despite their parents’ rage, however, Leonel told Guinness he doesn’t regret it one bit.
Throughout his life, Bobi has enjoyed free roaming of his family’s home, farm, and forest land. He’s also eaten the same thing his human family members have eaten — and so have his other furry siblings. Something must be going right, though, because several other of the Costa family’s dogs have lived to old ages. Bobi’s own mother, Gira, lived to be 18, while another dog saw the ripe old age of 22!
According to @GWR, Bobi is the oldest dog alive and the oldest dog EVER, at 30 years 266 days old as of 1 February 2023.
He has lived his entire life with the Costa family in the rural village of Conqueiros, in Leiria, Portugal. pic.twitter.com/UhKGPMFJ4f
— Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) February 2, 2023
The tumultuous title of the ‘World’s Oldest Dog’
If you’re having deja vu about this news, you’re not alone. Just a few weeks ago, a 23-year-old Chihuahua mix named Spike was granted the honor of becoming the oldest living dog after his owner, Rita Kimball, learned about the previous record holder. Kimball first realized that Spike was a record holder when she saw the previous oldest living dog, Pebbles, on an episode of Jimmy Fallon (via Guinness). She contacted the record committee when she realized Spike was actually older than Pebbles, and that’s how his title coup came to be.
The second-previous record holder, a 22-year-old Chihuahua named Gino, had only been crowned a month before Spike took over his title. Yet another Chihuahua named TobyKeith was the titleholder before Gino came along; and before TobyKeith, toy fox terrier Pebbles was the queen of the record books. That’s five different titleholders in four months!
Clearly, this is an ever-changing record, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth celebrating. Helping a dog stay healthy into their senior years is a massive victory, but how many pup parents can say they raised a world record holder, too? Certainly not many. Still, Spike the Chihuahua’s mom has several helpful tips for anyone who hopes to make their fur baby the next oldest living dog.
As Guinness reported, “Rita advises those with fuzzy friends to give their pet a healthy diet, room to roam, daily exercise, and unlimited love and attention.” That sounds like the recipe for one happy pup if you ask us!
