http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...ire/7412953.stm

"A Derbyshire couple are trying to prove their pet Labrador cross is the oldest dog in the world.

Bella's owner David Richardson, 76, said he bought the mixed breed dog from the RSPCA 26 years ago when she was "at least three years old".

That would make Bella's age more than 200 in canine years.

But the RSPCA said it does not have any records for Bella and Guinness World Records said without the appropriate paperwork it could not be proved.

Mr Richardson said he thought Bella might be the oldest dog in England, but was shocked to realise that she might be the oldest in the world. "

My dog needs to smash that record because i don't know what i'd do without him.

I hope my dog lives that long too.

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Awwwww, love dachshunds, very cute.

OMG looks soo cute ...

please put that gun down !!

there was an article in the local rag in the suburb i work in.. a lady had her jack russell for almost 17 years.. and my god, that poor bloody dog should have been put down at least 2 years ago.. the poor thing looked like it was suffering so much.. it couldnt walk normally.. it would hop pretty much teeny steps, not a normal gait.. 9 times out of 10 she would be carrying the poor mite.

I remember the day a young co-worker showed up at our place of employment exceptionally depressed because his dog had died that very morning.

It had been 19 years old. He had received it as a Christmas present when he was two.

My Sheltland Sheepdog was 15 when she was put down. I would loved to have had her live as long as that guy but only if she was in prime shape.

Pfft!!

I'll be 308 in a couple of months (although many keep saying I must be ancient enough to have been around since before the dinosaurs).

Oh man, I wish all dogs could could live as long as their owners. We lost our one baby at 3 years old due to kidney failure about two months ago It was a horrible

We tried to do so much for him, we are still very sad about him leaving us so soon.

This brings up a question I've been meaning to ask for years - why are dogs so comparatively short-lived? Man began domesticating the wolf a hundred thousand years ago so we've had a lot of experience in breeding the dog species. You'd think that by this time selective breeding would have a produced a dog which lives 30 or 40 years (or even longer, like many horses).

I can think (offhand) of only two reasons:

1. There's a "death gene" in canines which can't be bred out, and it's been there a long time.

2. Most people just don't want long-lived dogs.

Yes, I have pondered that same question many times, surely we should have by now found a way to have the dogs live longer. I would love to have my puppies live as long as possible. Even that there would just be more medical research for the poor babies and also more assistance, I can not believe how little can be done for a dog with kidney failure, everything is experimental - especially here in South Africa.

Dogs aren't just designed to live that long. Eventually our bodies just give out, no matter how advanced our technologies get that doesn't change. We could probably increase animal life spans by a few years but not by decades. Why do some species live longer then others? Good question.

ya know it could be relative to the size of the animal that also is a key factor, aside from humans who utilize tools to help keep themselves alive much longer (dentures any one) that the smaller an animal is the shorter they live type deal.

the whynsos, who really knows know except K&W.

But isn't the very idea of selective breeding to re-design species?

I had a wire hair fox terrier for 22 years... yes, 22. She'd have lived longer too, except she got parvo and we had to put her down. Unfortunately, we stopped vaccinating her when she was around 17. She was quite healthy and mobile until the parvo. She was slightly stiff on some days, but mostly her happy terror, I mean terrier self. We got her when I was 3, she passed when I was 25. Her name was Brandy Ann Winchester the III. She was never spayed and she pretty much ate a small amount of kibble every day (maybe a 1/4 cup) mixed with vegan table scraps. LOL. Not the recommended diet for a dog, but, it seemed to suit her just fine!

My sister, Anne, was younger than the damn dog. My FAVORITE way to tease my baby sis was to tell her mom and dad named her after the dog. LOL.

The dog I aquired 2 weeks ago... oddly, her AKC name is Clarius Brandy le Beaux. Her call name has been Brandy for 2 years. I can't call her Brandy, that's just... weird. So she's become Andi.

Wow, that's old.

Yes but you can only go so far. With selective breeding you could get a dog that would normally live ten years live maybe fifteen years and with modern medicine, technology, and good owner care extend the life a few more years...but you can't get a dog who has a life span of ten years to live thirty or forty years. You would need more then selective breeding for an effect like that...like mess with the DNA or something.