Last week, the Guinness World Record reported Bobi, the world's oldest dog had died age 31, which has led veterinarians to shake their heads in disbelief that the legitimacy of the animal's age was accurate.
To verify Bobi's age, the Guinness World Record noted that in 1992, he was registered with the Veterinary Medical Service of the Municipality of Leiria, which confirmed the birth date. In addition, Bobi's age was also verified on a National Union of Veterinarians Portuguese government pet database, according to earlier reports.
However, the database is usually based on the pet owners' self-certification, The Guardian reported. In addition, there has been scrutiny with images of Bobi in 1999, in which he has different colored paws to the dog that died in Portugal on Oct. 21, the report added.
For a bit of background, Bobi was a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a livestock guardian dog with an average life expectancy of 12-14 years, and lived a quiet life with many other animals and the Costa family in the rural village of Conqueiros in Leiria, Portugal.