Bobi, the world’s oldest known dog ever, dies at 31

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.