World's oldest dog dies peacefully

Caro

Caro

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

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, just north of Warrnambool in Victoria’s southwest.

“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.

“She just went downhill in two days and I said yesterday morning when I went home for lunch ... ‘She hasn’t got long now’.

“I’m sad, but I’m pleased she went the way she went.”

This article contains a news clip of Maggie before she passed http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/19/worlds-oldest-dog-maggie-the-kelpie-dies-aged-30/

That's pretty amazing. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our pups lasted that long. Also nice to see a farmer who just didn't put their working dog down after it's useful life, but instead treated her like a princess. Love to know the secret of having a dog that lasted that long.
 
What a faithful friend!!!!! I want to know what she was fed, if she had annual vaccinations, etc. I believe with all my heart, most of the stuff we deem "healthy" and protective of our pets today, is the very thing that shortens their lifespan. Growing up our pesky fox hounds lived longer than normal and literally died of old age. They moved slower as they aged but still got around. My mom cooked for them, only gave them one round of vaccinations when they were puppies. No dental issues. They saw the Vet when they tangled with porcupines, but they didn't suffer with dis-ease. She growled at cats, yeppers, she was definitely a dog, ha.
 
That's amazing! My moms last dog Honey lived to be almost 17 and she also didn't get tons of vaccinations and ate a lot of people food ( of course she was also overweight, my moms dogs were all fat lol).
 
tesslynn said:
What a faithful friend!!!!! I want to know what she was fed, if she had annual vaccinations, etc. I believe with all my heart, most of the stuff we deem "healthy" and protective of our pets today, is the very thing that shortens their lifespan.
Click to expand...

I suspect you're quite right. Between unnecessary and too-frequent vaccination, starchy, scanty diets and the mania for neutering, I think we do a great disservice to our dogs, even though the consensus is that those things come naturally under the head of "caring," and "responsible pet ownership." And it's not as if we confine those things to our dogs ... we do them to ourselves as well. (Apart from the neutering, because, fantastic as we think it is for dogs, we're not about to inflict it on ourselves!)

After having so many sick dogs over the years, I've decided to take a different tack with the one I have now.
 
Our fox hounds would have been considered insulated, not lean. My previous shelties were considered fat by some Vets, but they lived LONG lives and didn't seem to slow them down any. They were active dogs not couch potatoes. I grew up in the days we were outside most of our childhood running, playing, biking and doing sports. Our dogs came with us kids. I figure if you can run up and down a mt, at 9,000 ft on acreage, and not slow down, then the extra insulation isn't harming. My sheltie's could do that easily. They chased squirrels, birds, foxes, any critters that came around.
 
That's incredible! I had no idea dogs could even reach their 20s. I'd love to ask that farmer so many questions!
 
What a wonderful life...
I just wish I was lucky enough to have my boys that long!
Just want to kiss that sweet old face. Wonderful she was able to pass in her loving home.
Thanks for sharing!
 
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