Bobi, the world's oldest dog ever, dies aged 31

The world's oldest dog ever has died at the age of 31 years and 165 days.

Guinness World Record holder Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, passed away at his home in Portugal on Saturday.

His death was announced on social media by a veterinarian who met Bobi several times.

"Despite outliving every dog in history, his 11,478 days on earth would never be enough, for those who loved him," wrote Dr Karen Becker.

Bobi became both the world's oldest living dog and the oldest dog ever in February - beating an almost century-old record for the latter title.

The previous oldest dog ever was Australia's Bluey, who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months.

Bobi's grand old age was validated by the Portuguese government's pet database, which is managed by the National Union of Veterinarians.

The identity of Bobi's successor to the title of world's oldest living dog has not yet been revealed.

Bobi lived his whole life with the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros, near Portugal's west coast, after being born with three siblings in an outbuilding.

Leonel Costa, who was eight years old at the time, said his parents had too many animals and had to put the puppies down, but Bobi escaped.

Mr Costa and his brothers kept the dog's existence a secret from their parents until he was eventually discovered and became part of the family, who fed him the same food they eat.

Apart from a scare in 2018 when he was hospitalised after suddenly collapsing due to breathing difficulty, Mr Costa said in February that Bobi had enjoyed a relatively trouble-free life and thought the secret to his longevity was the "calm, peaceful environment" he lived in.

However, he had experienced trouble walking and worsening eyesight prior to his death.

Bobi was not the only dog owned by the Mr Costa to live a long life. Bobi's mother lived to the age of 18 while another of the family's dogs died at the age of 22.