World’s oldest dog Bobi the Rafeiro celebrates his 31st birthday with massive party plans

Bobi, a 31-year-old guard dog who cheated death in his first days, has celebrated his birthday as a celebrity in central Portugal after being declared the world’s oldest dog ever two months ago.

Bobi’s owner Leonel Costa told Guinness World Records a big traditional Portuguese birthday party was planned for Bobi on Saturday at his home in the rural village of Conqueiros, where Bobi has lived his entire life.

More than 100 people, some travelling from overseas, are due to attend the festivities which will include plenty of local food and a dance troupe which Bobi will dance with.

When he was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest dog on February 1, he broke a nearly century-old record previously held by Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months.

A purebreed Rafeiro, a Portuguese livestock guard dog whose normal life expectancy is between 12 and 14, Bobi was not supposed to live at all, never mind make it this long.

He was born on May 11, 1992, along with three other pups in a wood storage shed owned by the Costa family.

Because the family owned so many animals, the father decided they couldn’t keep the newborn puppies and the parents took them from the shed the next day, while the mother dog Gira was out, said Mr Costa, who was eight years old at the time.

But they didn’t realise they had left one puppy behind — his colouring made him blend in with the surrounding wood.Just like old-aged humans, Bobi sleeps a lot. He immediately lies down in bed after eating, although on cold days he chooses to nap by the fire.

“Bobi is special because looking at him is like remembering the people who were part of our family and unfortunately are no longer here, like my father, my brother, or my grandparents who have already left this world,” he told Guinness.

“Bobi represents those generations.”