PERTH, April 20 — Maggie the Kelpie, who was thought to be the world’s oldest dog, has died in Australia.
She was aged 30 — or 133 in human years — and passed away in her sleep on Sunday night.
“She was 30. She was still going along nicely last week,” owner Brian McLaren told the Weekly Times. She was walking from the dairy to the office and growling at the cats and all that sort of thing.”
The dairy farmer who lives in Victoria added that it became apparent quite quickly that Maggie didn’t have much time left, but he’s happy she went peacefully.
“She just went downhill in two days and I said yesterday morning when I went home for lunch, ‘She hasn’t got long now.’
“I’m sad, but I’m pleased she went the way she went.”
Before her death, the farm dog was deaf and had been losing her vision.
According to The Independent, Maggie’s age can’t be verified because McLaren said he lost her paperwork when she was a puppy.
He claimed that his youngest son, Liam, was four years old when they bought Maggie. He’s now 34.
The official holder of the world’s oldest dog is held by an Australian cattle dog called Bluey who died in 1939 aged 29 and five months.
Most dogs live for between eight and 15 years.
