[imagesource:instagram/bbc]

The world’s oldest dog, Bobi, has celebrated his 31st birthday and secured himself a nice bone by becoming the oldest dog ever. That’s 217 years old in doggie years.

Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo – a breed that has an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years, so for this amazing birthday more than 100 guests, and even a dance troupe, turned up to celebrate at his family’s home in Portugal.

The previous oldest dog ever was Australia’s Bluey, who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months.

Bobi has been living with his family, the Costa’s, for his entire life now, but it nearly ended for him when he was a pup. Initially, the family had too many pets, and after Bobi and his siblings were born, the parents had to put the puppies down.

Cruel we know, but this was 31 years ago, and besides the plucky little mutt managed to escape and hide. The Costa kids later found him and fearing for the poor guy’s life, they hid him from their parents. Eventually, Bobi was discovered, but by that time he had already become like family to the kids, so he stayed.

For his entire life, Bobi has been eating the same food as his human family, and apart from a scare in 2018 when he was hospitalised after suddenly collapsing due to breathing difficulty, he has enjoyed a relatively trouble-free and chilled life.

His family believes the secret to his longevity is the “calm, peaceful environment” he lives in, but it may also be genetics at work. Bobi’s mother lived to the ripe old age of 18 years before she went to the dog park in the sky.

The world’s oldest dog is however still going strong, and even though a little trouble walking and worsening eyesight slows him down a bit, he’s still the family’s best friend.

Or as the Costa’s call him: ‘Last of a generation and one of a kind’.

Good old boy.

[source:bbc]