Bobi’s paw-some longevity makes him record breaker

Bobi’s paw-some longevity makes him record breaker

8 November 2023

WE were greeted by the sad news this week that the oldest dog in the world has died. 

His name was ‘Bobi’ and he lived in Portugal and was reputedly 31 years of age. Indeed, he seems to be the oldest living dog ever according to the Guinness Book of Records. 

Incidentally, the oldest dog breed recorded by Guinness World Records is the Saluki, which emerged in Egypt in 329 BC. They were revered as royal pets and even mummified with their masters, the pharaohs. 

The Saluki may go even further back, to a time before Noah and the flood. Carvings of Saluki-type dogs have been found in ancient Sumer, one of the earliest of man’s cities. We’re talking even older than Babylon and the Tower of Babel.

Of course, dogs generally live shorter lives than people. But other animals can live a lot longer.  One famous example is ‘Lonesome George’.

Lonesome George was a Pinta Island tortoise from the Galapagos Islands. He was the last of his species. He lived to be over 100 years old, finally dying in 2012.  Sadly, his particular branch of the tortoise family is now extinct.

Closer to our own sphere of practice is the world’s oldest known cat. Her name was ‘Créme Puff’ and she was from Texas.  She lived until she was 38 years old, finally passing away in 2005.

Her owner attributed her longevity to a good diet, including the occasional of red wine. It should be noted that she also had what appears to be a very low stress existence including a home cinema which showed nature documentaries and what amounts to room service every day.

Some simple organisms are biologically immortal. This means that their mortality does not increase as they get older.  They don’t die from senescence.  They can still die from injury and disease, but they don’t ‘fall apart’ or ‘wear out’.

This class of organisms includes hydra and flatworms, and also some jellyfish. Interestingly, lobsters were thought to be almost immortal. They do not slow down or weaken with age.  However, eventually they will stop moulting and growing a new shell and therefore pass away.

So that was a whistle stop tour of ageing in the animal kingdom. If you have an especially old pet, we’d love to hear from you.