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Place your paw on your heart and bow your head for a round of Taps: the world’s oldest dog, Bobi, passed away on Saturday. Born on May 11, 1992, Bobi was a Rafeiro do Alentejo — a livestock guardian dog — and lived in Conqueiros, Portugal with the Costa Family. Bobi made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Oldest Living Dog in February of this year. In May Bobi celebrated his 31st birthday with a joyous party that saw more than a hundred people from all over the world come to pay tribute. Known for his golden brown coat and signature white front right paw, he lived life well, never once being tied to a leash and enjoying a diet of purely human food (seasoning removed). A friendly dog, Bobi kept up friendships with the many animals he encountered. Even cats. He is survived by his person, Leonel Costa.
“Is there ever enough time? I think not,” veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker – who interacted with Bobi on multiple occasions – wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “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 love him,” she added.
Back in May, Bobi celebrated his 31st birthday with “more than 100 people” traveling to Portugal to attend the dog’s celebration.
His owner Leonel Costa told Guinness World Records at the time that Bobi would have a “very traditional” Portuguese party.
“We’ve had a lot of journalists and people come from all over the world to take a picture with Bobi,” Costa said. “They’ve come from all over Europe, as well as the USA and even Japan.”
Bobi only ate human food and was treated to local meats and fish on his birthday.
The historic dog was given the Guinness World Record for World’s Oldest Living Dog in February, despite being of the Rafeiro do Alentejo breed, which has a life expectancy of 12-14 years.
He replaced former record holder Bluey – an Australian cattle dog, who died in November 1939 at 29 years and 5 months.
“Bobi has been a warrior for all these years; only he knows how he’s been holding on, it must not be easy because the average dog’s life span is not that high, and if he spoke, only he could explain this success,” Costa told Guinness World Records. “We are very happy and grateful to life for allowing us, after 30 years, to have Bobi in our daily lives.”
[From People]
Leonel Costa was eight years old when Bobi was born. He was from a litter of four who were all supposed to be rehomed, since the Costas already had too many animals on their property. But Leonal snuck away with Bobi, his parents let Bobi stay, and the two were companions from there on out. Leonel speaks eloquently in the article, but my goodness, the loss must be devastating. He’s spent nearly his entire life with Bobi. Having my own little companion, I cannot bear the thought. My Girl will be 12 next March and her facial fur has turned white and I’ve started noticing her being hesitant to jump up on the couch. I wanted to share Bobi’s story with her, as inspiration, but I just know her first question is gonna be “Well what did he eat?” and I’ll have to mumble in response, “human food” at which point she’ll shriek “SEE!!!!”
Our deepest sympathies to Leonel Costa. May Bobi’s memory be a blessing.
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