UK - The title to this article caught my eye and I had to read the whole thing. I've been working on some Senior Pet projects and know the general guidelines for a dog to be considered a Senior Citizen by most vets is 7 - 8 years of age. (This can vary depending on the breed of dog as well as its health. - From Wikipedia: "Smaller breeds mature faster, but age more slowly after reaching maturity. A small dog (such as a toy poodle, terrier, chihuahua, etc.) isn't considered "geriatric" until much later than a larger breed - maybe 10 to 12 years old, and the largest breeds are senior citizens at 5 or 6 years of age. Most vets, though, consider a dog 7 or 8 years or older to be a senior citizen). 203 years is obviously very old! Here is the story from the Daily Mail:

"The world's oldest dog has died at the age of 203 (in canine years).

Bella was bought by David Richardson from the United Kindom's equivalent of the ASPCA, the RSPCA 26 years ago when she was three years old.

Since then, the Labrador cross enjoyed a comfy life at the Derbyshire home of 76-year-old Mr Richardson and his partner Daisy Cooper, 81. Although Mr Richardson, from Clay Cross, has no official documentation to prove Bella's age, he insists the aged pooch was 29.

Bella died of a heart attack on Saturday in Lincolnshire where the couple had gone on holiday.

'We had just come up to Mablethorpe - we always go to the same place on holiday because we can take the dogs,' said Mr Richardson.

'We had barely been here for an hour when Bella started panting and yelping and collapsed in front of the sofa.

'We took Bella to the vet but she was so ill she had to be put to sleep.It was very upsetting. We will miss her a lot.

'Lots of people came to see us and to wish Bella goodbye. Our friends and neighbours were very fond of her,' he added.

The Guinness World Records say the most recent record for the oldest dog was held by Butch, a 28-year-old from America who died in 2003. The oldest ever dog was Bluey, a sheepdog from Australia, who also lived to 29.

Mr Richardson's claim could never be proved because the RSPCA don't hold detailed records stretching back to when he bought Bella and the Guinness World Records say Bella could not have been included because their was no documentation.

The world's oldest dog dies...........

To read the original story, click HERE