• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Maggie the Kelpie, potentially the world’s oldest dog, dies peacefully at 30

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
What a life. His owner's son was 4 when he brought her home. I cannot imagine how devastated he must feel.

MAGGIE the Kelpie, touted as possibly the world’s oldest dog and thought to be 30 years old, passed away peacefully last night.

Her owner, Woolsthorpe dairy farmer Brian McLaren, confirmed the sad news this morning.

Brian said when he went home last night Maggie was tucked up in her bed, and he found her there this morning when he arrived at the farm.

“She was 30 years old, she was still going along nicely last week, she was walking from the dairy to the office and growling at the cats and all that sort of thing,” Brian said.
Click to expand...

Ni5rEZO.jpg
A68GC3b.jpg
Click to expand...

This hay fever is the worst, let me tell you. Somebody close the windows or something.
 
C

CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls

Banned
What a sweet baby. I can't imagine losing a dog that's been in your life for 30 years. I was a wreck when my 8 or 9 year old would pass away when I was small.

Horsemama1956 said:
The last 10-15 years probably weren't all that great? Especially with it being a somewhat big dog.
Click to expand...

Medically? Maybe. But the dog lived on a farm. That's the kind of freedom that most homeowners can't afford their pups. Socially, Maggie had it made in the shade.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
How? 30 years old would be a like person living to 200.
 
S

Subpar Scrub

Banned
Sad to hear. Kelpies are incredibly active dogs, many of the people I know who live in rural/bushland areas own them. Very loyal and love to work.
 
A

AGoodODST

Member
Not to be a dick, but I would like to see some receipts concerning the age of the dog. Couldn't see anything in the article.

Are there any other examples of dogs living to a similar age? I've known dogs to go to 18, but those were small breeds and by that point they were better of being put to sleep anyway.

Sad that it died though, cool looking dog.
 
T

tuffy

Member
AGoodODST said:
Not to be a dick, but I would like to see some receipts concerning the age of the dog. Couldn't see anything in the article.
Click to expand...
There's a longer article which goes into the dog's age a bit more:
Maggie's age can't be verified because Brian says he lost the dog's paperwork when she was a puppy.

Brian McLaren says his youngest son, Liam, was four years old when they bought Maggie. He's now 34.
Click to expand...
Rest well, pupper.
 
R

RumblingRosco

Member
AGoodODST said:
Not to be a dick, but I would like to see some receipts concerning the age of the dog. Couldn't see anything in the article.

Are there any other examples of dogs living to a similar age? I've known dogs to go to 18, but those were small breeds and by that point they were better of being put to sleep anyway.

Sad that it died though, cool looking dog.
Click to expand...

I knew of a 35 pound dog that was aged 19, but that was the oldest I've ever heard of. My childhood dogs lived until 13 (45 lbs), 14 (40 lbs) and 18 (40 lbs) years old. All relatively old for their size.

This reminds me that my cats are like 16 years old. ;_;
 
E

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
AGoodODST said:
Not to be a dick, but I would like to see some receipts concerning the age of the dog. Couldn't see anything in the article.

Are there any other examples of dogs living to a similar age? I've known dogs to go to 18, but those were small breeds and by that point they were better of being put to sleep anyway.

Sad that it died though, cool looking dog.
Click to expand...

There have been tons of dogs that have lasted into their 20s, if not late 20s. It's rare, but not wholly unheard of. The official record holder was an Australian Cattle Dog named Bluey that lived till 29, but there's been numerous reports of dogs living even well into their 30s.
 
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Ragnorok64 said:
How does a dog manage to live that long? Isn't that 2 to 3 times longer than a dog typically should?
Click to expand...

SG-17 said:
Hopefully the owners will let researchers take samples to see why the dog lived as long as it did.
Click to expand...

AGoodODST said:
Not to be a dick, but I would like to see some receipts concerning the age of the dog. Couldn't see anything in the article.

Are there any other examples of dogs living to a similar age? I've known dogs to go to 18, but those were small breeds and by that point they were better of being put to sleep anyway.

Sad that it died though, cool looking dog.
Click to expand...
There must be something in the water, because the record holder is/was an Australian cattle dog also from Victoria, Australia. He lived 29 years.

Edit: Wikipedia's list of older dogs. Unsurprisingly, many of those were working dogs. Dachshunds also seem to live long lifes.
 
S

Slime Scholar

Member
AGoodODST said:
Are there any other examples of dogs living to a similar age?
Click to expand...
From the article.
Brian McLaren and his dog Maggie, Woolsthorpe. Unfortunately Mr McLaren has lost Maggie’s ownership papers and any proof she has broken a world record. Given that the world’s oldest verified dog was an Australian Cattle Dog called Bluey, who died in 1939 aged 29 years, Maggie’s long life is remarkable.
Click to expand...
There are other, unsupported claims of other dogs living similar lifespans. It's incredibly rare though.

edit: beaten

Sad story. The bonds we form with pets are strong as it is, so it's hard to imagine losing one you've spent so long with.
 
A

AGoodODST

Member
Ah cool, I was just really surprised considering the size of the dog. Pretty interesting others have lived to similar ages.

Dog Fountain of Youth is apparently in Australia :p
 
D

Diabelli

Member
Spring Drive said:
My cat is 18 and has recently gone deaf and blind. I'm afraid he won't be around for much longer :(
Click to expand...

My cat is going on to 23 and she's also deaf. She's definitely started in the last year or two to look like her age, unfortunately. She has trouble walking sometimes because of stiff leg joints, and she's all but stopped grooming herself so her hair gets all matted and scruffy looking, so I have to occasionally brush and cut away the clumps of hair. But considering she's over 100 in equivalent human years, I think that's to be expected. She's actually become far more loving in her older age, purring just at the mere sight of me when I enter the room, and almost constantly fixing her gaze on me. I have no idea how the world's oldest cat at 38, which is 15 years older than my cat, managed to live that long.
 
Falcs

Falcs

Banned
My wife's parent's kelpie just turned 16. She seems so old now, but she's only half that dogs age.
I'll be so sad when she's gone.
 
P

Pennywise

Member
Funky Papa said:
There must be something in the water, because the record holder is/was an Australian cattle dog also from Victoria, Australia. He lived 29 years.

Edit: Wikipedia's list of older dogs. Unsurprisingly, many of those were working dogs. Dachshunds also seem to live long lifes.
Click to expand...

Damn.
Mine could have been standing in that list.

Was 21 when he died, my grandma got him a year before my birth.
What a great companion ;_;

Mixed breed, but no working dog or anything similar.
 
Z

Zephyrettes

Member
Oh man, the tugging of the heart strings immediately after reading that...she looked like such a happy dog. I'm glad she lived a long life, I can only hope mine lives a long and healthy one :(

Such a beautiful dog at that.
 
M

MrToughPants

Brian Burke punched my mom
Had a family cat that was 26 but it was almost blind. The family dog, black lab, was 19 before we had to put her to sleep. :(
 
C

cameron

Member
Those pictures, man. ;_;
“She was 30 years old, she was still going along nicely last week, she was walking from the dairy to the office and growling at the cats and all that sort of thing,” Brian said.
Click to expand...
Ha. It's nice to hear she had a good active life right up until the end.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
My cousin's Jack Russell managed to live a full life into its 20s. I liked to joke that it was old enough to buy a beer virtually anywhere in the world.
 
F

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
What a beautiful dog, I would have loved to see that 30 yo act as active as the owner said he she did
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Locked
Has anyone else here ever struggled with not wanting to be alive?
48
2K
GigaBowser replied
My dad’s dog bit off my nose — now I have hair growing on my face
2 3 4 5 6
260
20K
Auto_aim1 replied
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 7 is live, huge patch notes!
2
66
5K
Cyberpunkd replied
[UK] Nicola Bulley, missing woman in strange circumstances (Up: Body found, positive ID)
2
69
7K
Jezbollah replied
My dog died
21
1K
Hoppa replied
Top Bottom