Featured Image Credit: Guinness World Records
Topics: Dogs, News, Animals, World News
Callum Jones
The world's oldest dog has died at the age of 31, just a matter of months after he celebrated his birthday.
Bobi was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest dog ever back in February.
He was born on 11 May 1992.
The Rafeiro do Alentejo is a Portuguese farm dog with a life expectancy of between 12 and 14 years, but Bobi lived for more than double that.
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Dr Karen Becker, a veterinarian, confirmed the dog's passing over the weekend, saying: "Last night, this sweet boy earned his wings.
"Despite outliving every dog in history, his 11,478 days on Earth would never be enough for those who loved him.
"Godspeed, Bobi ... you've taught the world all you were meant to teach."
When Bobi turned 31 in May, the pup celebrated like no pup has ever celebrated before at his birthday party in the village of Conqueiros, as he hosted 100 friends and fans from around the world.
It came as Bobi set the record for being the oldest down in the world, with owner Leonel Costa saying: "Looking at him is like remembering the people who were part of our family and unfortunately are no longer here, like my father, my brother or my grandparents who have already left this world.
"Bobi represents those generations."
This good old boy came from a line of long-living canines. His mom, Gira, lived to the ripe old age of 18, and another one of their dogs, Chicote, lived to be 22 - much longer than the Rafeiro do Alentejo's average lifespan of 12 years.
And beyond his remarkable age he reached, Bobi's story is a miraculous one.
He was born as one of four male pups in 1992 in an outbuilding owned by the Costa family.
"My father was a hunter, and we always had many dogs," Costa told Guinness.
But, due to the number of animals they already owned, his father decided that they couldn't keep the puppies.
“Unfortunately, at that time it was considered normal to bury the animals in a hole so that they would not survive,” he explained.
The day after the puppies were born, Costa's parents took them while the pups' mother, Gira, wasn't around.
In the days that followed, he and his brothers noticed Gira frequently visiting the outbuilding where her puppies were born.
They decided to follow Gira one day and discovered Bobi who'd accidentally been left behind.