Bobi, the world’s oldest known dog ever, passed away last week at an animal hospital in Portugal, Guinness World Records announced Monday.
“Bobi lived to be 31 years 165 days old and spent his entire life with his loving owner Leonel Costa and his family in the Portuguese village of Conqueiros,” the record-keeping company said in a news release.
Bobi was recognized as the oldest dog ever known in February, just two weeks after a 23-year-old Chihuahua named Spike tried to claim the title. His death leaves Ohio-born Spike as the oldest known living dog.
In dog years, Bobi was roughly 86 years old. He was a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a Portuguese breed of farm and guardian dog with a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.
His age was confirmed by his 1992 registration with a veterinary medical service in Leiria, Portugal, and with a Portuguese government-owned pet database, Guinness said.
Bobi was born in a litter of four puppies; the three others were put down by owner Leonel Costa’s parents because the farm already had too many animals.
“At that time it was considered normal by older people … to bury the animals in a hole so that they would not survive,” Leonel said in an interview with Guinness.
Costa said he hid Bobi from his parents after he discovered that the dog had escaped his siblings’ fate by hiding in a stack of wood. When Costa’s parents found out, it was too late to put Bobi down.
Costa said Bobi was never tied up or leashed, drank plenty of water and ate human food exclusively. Costa attributed Bobi’s old age to his “calm, peaceful” life.
On Bobi’s 31st birthday, in May, his owner threw him a traditional Portuguese birthday party, attended by more than 100 guests, Guinness said.
‘This should never be the answer’: Man filmed abandoning dog on remote trail.
A dog has been rescued from a remote trail in Oklahoma after a man was caught on camera dumping the pet to fend for itself in the middle of nowhere.
The puppy, now named Rocket, was found by animal rescuers after nine hours alone on the trail according to a post on Facebook by the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals.
Trail cameras showed a man abandoning the dog and driving away in his car, according to the post. Because the trail cameras were active rescuers were able to respond.
“This is absolutely not ok. Dumping a poor defenceless animal in the middle of nowhere and driving away is cruel,” the charity wrote.
Rescuers said that the pooch had been vetted, fed, and given a safe warm place to rest his head following the abandonment.
“While we understand that people may be struggling to care for their pets due to Covid, there are resources and organisations here to help, including us. Doing this to living, feeling being should never be the answer,” they said.
“Rocket was lucky,” they added. “If cameras weren’t rolling, who knows what fate would have befallen Rocket.”
“We will ensure he never suffers this fate again,” they said.
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