Bobi wins Guinness World Record for being the oldest dog ever

Bobi the farm dog is a very good boy. He's also a very old boy.

The Guinness World Records has confirmed he has absolutely blitzed past the previous record for oldest dog of all time.

Not only that, but Bobi actually has two world records under his belt.

The prehistoric pupper is both the oldest dog living and the oldest dog ever.

Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a type of Portuguese farm dog that usually has an average life expectancy of about 12 to 14 years.

The dog has well and truly eclipsed that, coming in at 30 years 268 days old as of 3 February 2023.

The Portuguese pupper smashed an almost century-old record held by Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who lived to be 29 years 5 months old.

There is something to be said about life on a farm, as both Bluey and Bobi have that in common.

Guinness World Records

Bobi spends his days on his family's farm in the rural village of Conqueiros in Portugal.

But his life nearly ended before it had even begun.

The now-decrepit doggo avoided being put to sleep by his owner's parents.

Bobi was one of four puppies in his litter, and the only thing that saved him was that he wandered off from the litter when it came for his death sentence to be carried out.

"I was eight years old," said Leonel Costa, now aged 38, explained to the Guinness World Records.

Guinness World Records

"My father was a hunter, and we always had many dogs.”

But, due to the number of animals they had at the time, Leonel’s father decided that they couldn’t keep the four puppies.

Bobi managed to dodge death row and Leonel and his brothers kept Bobi’s existence a secret.

"We knew that when the dog opened its eyes, my parents would no longer [put him down]," he said.

"It was popular knowledge [in Portugal] that this act could not or should be done."

So the boys hid Bobi for two weeks while they waited for those beautiful brown eyes to open.

Guinness World Records

Leonel’s parents were not impressed by their sneaky sons but, as the young pup had already opened his eyes, he was now part of the family.

Leonel’s revealed his parents 'screamed a lot and punished us' when they found out about Bobi.

"It was worth it and for a good reason," he added.

Bobi will turn 31 in May, and hopefully still has plenty of time left to continue being a very good boy.

And a very old boy.

Topics: Good News, Animals, Weird, Guinness World Record

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist