LONDON, January 16. /TASS/. Guinness World Records has temporarily stripped Bobi, the dog who died last year, of the title of the oldest dog in history, doubting that he was really 31 years old, Guinness World Records said in a statement.

"While our review is ongoing we have decided to temporarily pause both the record titles for 'oldest dog living' and 'oldest dog ever' - just until all of our findings are in place," the document said.

The guard dog breed Alentejo Mastiff entered the Guinness Book of World Records in February 2023. The date of his birth was May 11, 1992, confirmed by the records of the Portuguese state veterinary database and the veterinary service of the municipality of Leiria. In October 2023, it was reported that Bobi, who lived almost all his life in the Portuguese village of Coqueiros on the country's west coast, died aged 31, while the average life expectancy of Alentejo mastiffs is between 12 and 14 years.

The title of the oldest living dog is claimed by a Chihuahua named Spike, who may be 24 years old. However, his owner has no exact data on the age of the dog, which she found in a parking lot in 2009. The veterinarian who examined him then decided that Spike was about 10 years old, and this figure was put into his documents. Guinness World Records plans to ask an independent veterinary expert for a new estimate of Spike's age.