Nothing in this world is honest and true.
It wasn’t too long ago that everyone online came together to celebrate Bobi the dog, which was believed to be the oldest living “good boy” on planet Earth.
Just last year, Bobi celebrated his 31st birthday, which was attended by over 100 people. Everyone loves a story about an old pet setting records, which is why everyone was also devastated when it was announced that Bobi passed away in October of last year.
Bobi’s passing was obviously sad, but the silver lining was that he lived long enough to set the Guinness World Record, and would forever “live on” through that record, as long as another dog didn’t come along to break it.
However, it now seems as though it won’t be another dog that takes the “oldest dog” title away from Bobi. It’ll instead be a review by Guinness World Records to verify the age of the Portuguese dog.
There is now a formal review ongoing of Bobi’s age after veterinarians questioned the dog’s reported age of 31 years old. Apparently, the average life span of Bobi’s breed (Rafeiro do Alentejo) is 10 to 14 years, and the world record breaking dog’s age was solely based on the owner’s word.
A spokesperson for Guinness World Records put out this statement regarding the Bobi age scandal:
“A formal review into the oldest dog record is taking place, which involves GWR reviewing evidence we have on file, seeking new evidence, (and) reaching out to experts and those linked to the original application.”
I simply can’t believe that we’re thinking about posthumously stripping a dog of its Guinness World Record.
Should it be changed if they are able to determine that Bobi wasn’t the age that was reported? Yes, I guess it should, out of respect for the truth.
But isn’t there value in the fact that the world rallied around Bobi, and his story brought us all some joy last year? Yes, there most definitely is.
I stand with Bobi as a world record holder…at least for now, until they disprove the Portuguese dog’s age and the title swings back to Spike, a 23-year-old Chihuahua.
