If there is a Dog Heaven, what must Bobi be thinking as he gazes down? Bobi’s place in the record books seemed assured when he died in October at the age of 31 years and 165 days – more than two years older than his closest rival for the title of the oldest dog who ever lived.

Alas, Guinness World Records has stripped Bobi of his record on the basis that “without any conclusive evidence available to us... we simply can’t retain Bobi as the record holder”.