Meet Lazare, the 30-Year-Old Dog Who Could Become the Oldest in the World
There is a small dog living in France right now who might just rewrite the record books. His name is Lazare, a Continental Toy Spaniel who, according to his shelter, was born on December 4, 1995, making him more than 30 years old. A French animal welfare organization has formally submitted a request to Guinness World Records asking them to verify the claim. If confirmed, this little guy would go down in history as the oldest dog ever recorded.
The current record belongs to Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who passed away in 1939 at the remarkable age of 29. However, Guinness is expected to approach this new application with extra caution. That is because the organization was recently burned by the case of Bobi, a dog from Portugal that was awarded the title after his owners claimed he lived to be 31 years and 165 days old. That record was stripped in 2024 after multiple veterinarians raised serious doubts about whether the dog’s age had been accurately documented.
Despite all the buzz surrounding his potential record, Lazare’s life has been anything but easy. He deals with arthritis on a daily basis, has significant vision and hearing loss, and has a medical condition that causes his tongue to constantly hang out of his mouth. To make things harder, he recently wound up in a shelter tucked in the French Alps after the person who had cared for him passed away. He spent ten days at the Annecy Marlio Spa shelter before finally finding a new family to call his own.
Anne-Sophie Moyon, who manages the shelter, has been very clear about the reliability of Lazare’s documented age. She says the birth date was cross-checked using both his microchip data and his entry in the Livre des origines Français, which is the official French registry for pedigree dogs. According to Moyon, there is absolutely no doubt that Lazare has entered his 31st year of life.
The woman who gave him a home is 29-year-old Ophélie Boudol, which means she is actually younger than her new pet. She told the French television channel TF1 that the record itself means nothing to her and that she took him in purely out of love for animals and the instant bond they shared. She simply could not stand the thought of him spending his final days in a shelter. Boudol lives with her 10-year-old son and two cats, and she says the whole family has grown deeply attached to Lazare almost immediately.
She shared with Le Parisien that he follows her around the apartment everywhere she goes, and that they are all hoping he sticks around for a long time to come. She has even created an Instagram account to keep the world updated on his daily life. Her vet has reportedly confirmed that Lazare is in good overall condition for his age, enjoying slow, gentle walks and plenty of sleep. That is honestly remarkable when you consider that Continental Toy Spaniels typically have a life expectancy of around 15 years.
Guinness World Records has acknowledged receiving the application, though no official decision has been announced. Whether or not the title becomes official, Lazare has already captured hearts around the world and found exactly what he needed most at the end of his long life.
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