Guinness World Records launches investigation; Previous research reveals that there is no data to confirm whether Bobi was the oldest dog in the world
Bobi, the world's oldest dog, has undergone a formal review and his titles have been suspended pending the outcome, the Guinness World Records (GWR) announced on Tuesday.
“A formal review of the older dog's record is underway, which involves GWR reviewing the evidence we have on file, looking for new evidence, [and] contacting experts and those linked to the original request,” spokeswoman Amanda Marcus said in a statement Tuesday.
The review was launched after veterinarians questioned the age of the title-holder Portuguese dog, who was reportedly 31 when he died last year. NBC News reported.
After Bobi was announced as the world's oldest living dog and the oldest dog in history last February, veterinarians questioned the dog's title and revealed that he is of the Rafeiro do Alentejo breed, which has a life expectancy common from 10 to 14 years.
Last month, cabling The magazine's investigation revealed that Portugal's pet database recorded Bobi as being born in 1992, but had “no record or data that could confirm or deny this claim.”
Previously, in May, Bobi's owner, Leonel Costa, claimed that the dog's mother lived to be 18, and her final age of 31 would have been unimaginable in another era.
Costa also said in a statement that “an elite within the veterinary world…tried to give people the idea that Bobi's life story was not true.”
He believed the reaction occurred because he attributed Bobi's longevity to a human-like diet, rather than pet foods that are not recommended by veterinarians.
“Everything would be different if we had said he ate pet food for three decades,” Costa said, adding that everything GWR had requested to validate Bobi's age had been met.
After Bobi's death, a 23-year-old Chihuahua named Spike became the oldest living dog, according to GWR.
