Thursday, February 22, 2024

Danny Chambers and Bobi, the world's oldest ever dog that wasn't

Danny Chambers is the Liberal Democrat PPC for Winchester, where we finished less than a thousand votes behind the winning Conservative at the last election.

He turns up in today's Guardian in a story about Bobi, a Portuguese mastiff who died last year, supposedly at the age 31 years and five months. He was briefly listed as the world's oldest ever dog, but Guinness World Records has now withdrawn its recognition.

As the Guardian story reveals, some people always had their doubts:

Just days after Bobi's demise, Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, suggested that claims the dog had lived more than three decades were false.

Chambers said that, of the 18,000 members of the Veterinary Voices group he runs, "not a single one" of his colleagues believed Bobi was actually 31 years old.

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

I'm not convinced this story will have an impact on the contest in Winchester, but it does give me the chance to post this notably green campaign video from Danny.

3 comments:

nigel hunter said...





How old is the oldest dog?

Jonathan Calder said...

It's in the Guardian report:

"The previous record-holder was Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who died in 1939 aged 29 years and five months."

nigel hunter said...

WOW!