Is This Dog Actually Gen Z?
The record-breaking 30-something may have misrepresented himself.
New scandal alert! Now joining the ranks of fallen she-EOs and disgraced scammers is Bobi, formerly known to the world as the “oldest dog ever.” In short, dog lovers everywhere have been duped by Bobi — the ultimate betrayal.
Per People, in February of last year, Guinness World Records bestowed the title of oldest pooch on the block to Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo working dog who passed away in October at the age of 31. But after a December Wired report called into question Bobi’s real age, GWR launched an official investigation to verify the Portuguese dog’s records. On Thursday, the organization announced that it had posthumously revoked Bobi’s title upon conclusion of its investigation. There just wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Bobi was, as the world believed him to be, a millennial.
“Following concerns raised by vets and other experts, both privately as well as within public commentary, and the findings of investigations conducted by some media outlets, we felt it important to open a review into Bobi’s record,” Mark McKinley, the director of records at GWR, said in a statement. “Without any conclusive evidence available to us right now, we simply can’t retain Bobi as the record holder and honestly claim to maintain the high standards we set ourselves.”
Bobi’s owner, a man who lived on a farm in the village of Conqueiros, had documented that his dog was born on May 11, 1992 — prime millennial Taurus territory — according to the AP. But Wired reported that Bobi’s age was never verified through the official Portuguese pet database. A veterinarian and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons also told the Guardian that not “a single one” of her colleagues believed Bobi was in his 30s. For the time being, there is no official replacement for the “oldest dog ever” category.
While I find it very brave that Bobi chose to represent himself as older than he actually was, I (a millennial) also find it suspicious that he’d actively want to group himself in with my generation. Most of us suffer from chronic anxiety and live in fear of being characterized as lame by Gen Z, but alas, Bobi must have seen some redeeming quality in us as a collective. For now, as we continue to advocate for age transparency across generations, Bobi simply must go down in infamy as the dog who fooled us all.
Related