'World's oldest dog' has title suspended as conspiracy theories swirl

Amid claims the current title holder was not as old as its owners claimed it was, the Guinness World Records have temporarily suspended their "world's oldest dog" title.

When the purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, named Bobi, passed away, an entry on the Guinness World Records website explained that he had lived to be 31 years 165 days old. The shocking age led many internet sleuths to raise their eyebrows.

On the Dogs subreddit, some users questioned whether a dog could live that long, citing the previous title holder who lived to be 23 years and 7 days old. And others claimed they had found earlier photos of Bobi that showed a different dog with white paws.

And it wasn't only online investigators that had questions, vets raised their eyebrows too. Speaking to The Guardian, Danny Chambers of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons said that none of his colleagues believed the dog could be that old.

"This is the equivalent of a human living to over 200 years old which, given our current medical capabilities, is completely implausible," Chambers added. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and no concrete evidence has been provided to prove his age."

Wired looked into the matter further. According to the Guinness World Records, Bobi's age had been verified by the Portuguese SIAC pet registration program. However, when SIAC was contacted by Wired they replied: "At the time, the animal's holder declared that it has been born in 1992, but we have no registration or data that can confirm or deny this statement."

Already aware of questions about Bobi's age, Guinness World Records have launched their own investigation and temporarily taken away Bobi's title whilst the investigation is ongoing.

“While our review is ongoing we have decided to temporarily pause both the record titles for oldest dog living and ever," a spokesperson said, per The Guardian. "Just until all of our findings are in place."

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