Australia lost a very beloved, very old soul today. Maggie, the Australian Kelpie, passed away after having lived for 30 years, according to owner Brian McLaren. She spent her life with him, roaming around their spacious dairy farm.
While most dogs live between 11-15 years of age (and for some lucky ones, a few years more), this amazing pup more than doubled the average life expectancy.
Unfortunately, McLaren lost documentation that specified Maggie’s birth date, so the official world record for the oldest living dog still belongs to Bluey, an Australian Cattle Dog that lived to the ripe old age of 29 years and 5 months, back in 1939.
Despite Maggie’s age, the elderly pup remained relatively spry up until a couple days before her passing.
“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,” McLaren said in The Weekly Times,
“She just went downhill in two days and I said yesterday morning when I went home for lunch … ‘She hasn’t got long now,'” he added.
The newspaper also reported that Maggie crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully. “I’m sad, but I’m pleased she went the way she went,” he said of her passing.
Check out this news clip, highlighting the pup’s longevity:
What amazing girl–she sure was loved! If you think that’s impressive, check out Corduroy, the oldest living cat who’s going to be turning 27 this August. What do you think are their secrets for longevity?
