Guinness World Records announced Thursday that it no longer considers Bobi—a purportedly 31-year-old dog that died in October—the oldest dog that ever lived.
The superannuated Rafeiro do Alentejo who lived in Portugal was given the title of “world’s oldest dog” in February 2023, but the records organization launched a review last month after some veterinarians questioned Bobi’s age. After combing through the evidence, GWR concluded there’s no way it can definitively prove how old he was.
The decision to posthumously take the accolade away from Bobi—who was given his title when he was supposedly 31 years and 165 days old—came down to microchip data taken from an official Portuguese government database. The data was at the heart of Bobi’s claim to being the oldest dog ever, but it emerged that the chipping didn’t require proof of age for dogs born before 2008.
