How your dog can live as long as Bobi, reported to have died aged 31

Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, at his home in Conqueiros, central Portugal, in May. Photograph: Jorge Jeronimo/AP

For people in the UK, 31 is the average age at which they get married for the first time, women give birth, and, in some regions, buy their first home – but for dogs it is equivalent to being about 200 years old.

This is why the news that Bobi, a Portuguese mastiff, the oldest known dog in the world, had died aged 31 on 21 October has generated so much global interest – as well as a bit of scepticism.