Ireland’s ‘oldest dog’ Skippy dies peacefully at the…

Ireland’s ‘oldest dog’ Skippy dies peacefully at the age of 27

Skippy, who was believed to be the oldest dog in Ireland, died last week at the age of 27 - or around 135 in dog years.

The senior Border Collie who lived on a farm in Elly Bay in County Mayo passed away peacefully at 11am on Wednesday, July 6, after his owner noticed he had been fading away since 9am that morning.

In his final days, Skippy had lost the mobility in his legs and was unable to walk but he was looked after by his owner Patrick Geraghty, 84, who gave him bedding, food and medicine every day to keep him comfortable in his old age.

Pat raised Skippy since he was just a pup of a few weeks' old after he got him from a renowned dog breeder, Joe Dean, in Belmullet in the summer of 1995.

While they don’t have official records to verify Skippy’s age, Pat’s nephew, Pearce Prior, who lives in London where he works as a taxi driver, said he remembered Skippy as a small puppy from visits home to Ireland in the 90s.

Before he died, Skippy was a farm dog and worked on the farm up until about two years ago. However, as he aged his mobility greatly reduced and he had trouble getting up on his back legs and became hard of hearing.

Pat previously told the Irish Mirror that he fed Skippy two tins of Brandy dog food a day - one in the morning and one in the evening - as Skippy didn’t like any other brand. Skippy also loved to eat scraps from his master’s lunch, usually Irish stew, but he would only eat it with a drop of gravy on top as well.

“We’re good buddies,” Pat said in February. “It’s my turn to look after him now, you know.

“He’s been good to me when he’s had his health but he’s down and out now and I have to give him water four times a day and feed him three times a day - but I don’t mind.”

In his final days, Skippy lost the mobility in his legs but was looked after by his owner Pat (pictured together in February 2022) (Pearce Prior)

Pat’s neighbour, Fergus Sweeney, said he believes the secret behind Skippy’s long life was down to the way of life and the fresh sea air on the Erris peninsula.

“I’d say it’s all down to a really natural life,” he said. “Really healthy food, living outside and the fresh air. That’s definitely something to do with it.”

At the age of 27, Skippy lived to the equivalent age of between 125 to 150 in human years and was perhaps even one of the oldest dogs in the world.

The average life expectancy for Border Collies is between 12 and 15 years old.

The official Guinness World Record for the world's oldest dog is held by 'Bluey', a female Australian Cattle Dog who died in 1939 aged 29 years and 5 months.

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