I have had a dog in my family since I was a small kid. They become part of the family similar to a sibling or even a kid sometimes. One of the only bad things of owning a dog is their short lifespans (as compared to humans).
But Australian Cattle Dog owner, Pat Geraghty hasn’t had to worry about that with his dog named Skippy. He brought home Skippy when he was only a few weeks old all the was back in 1996 which makes him 26 years old. The Guinness World Records says that the oldest dog ever was Bluey, also an Australian cattle dog who lived to be 29 years and five days old back in 1939.
That not only makes him the oldest dog in Ireland, but one of, if not THE oldest dog in the entire world.
They have been living on the family farm in Elly Bay, Ireland.
Because Skippy is an Australian Cattle Dog, he has been able to help his human dad with the chores that come with managing the farm.
Skippy recently retired from the farm and spends his time relaxing and hanging out with his family.
Typically, Australian Cattle Dogs only live to be 12-15 years meaning Skippy has doubled the average life span of the breed.
And in case you’re doing the math, a dog that is 26 years old is over 130 in dog years.
His human dad says the secret to his long life is the food he feeds Skippy. He feeds him his favorite “Brandy dog food” every morning and night but the real secret has been daily scraps of his Irish stew.
Skippy prefers to sleep on a bed of straw in a shed rather than inside. There may be something in the water on this farm because Pat is 84 years young.
Check out a video of Skippy with his dad Pat.
There are no official documentation or records confirming Skippy’s age, but family members do say they remember Skippy on the family farm in the 1990’s. In addition to that, his neighbor said he recalls Skippy chasing their car when he moved into the area over 20 years ago.
Also according to Wikipedia, this places Skippy around the 7th oldest dog of all time.