Australia: Maggie, world’s ‘oldest’ dog dies peacefully in her sleep

Maggie, believed to be the world’s oldest dog at the age of 30, died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday night in Australia, BBC reported.

Maggie, believed to be the world’s oldest dog at the age of 30, died peacefully in her basket while sleeping on Sunday night in Australia, BBC reported.

Maggie, believed to be the world’s oldest dog at the age of 30, died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday night in Australia, BBC reported (Picture courtesy: Screengrab)

Maggie belonged to a Woolsthorpe dairy farmer, Brian McLaren, who says he got the kelpie when his son Liam was just four years old. Liam is now 34, the Australian newspaper The Weekly Times said.

Maggie, the kelpie, died “peacefully” in her sleep on Sunday night. (Picture courtesy: Twitter)

“She was 30. 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 told 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’.”

McLaren said Maggie was 30 years old. (Picture courtesy: Reddit)

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

If Maggie was 30, she would have lived twice the average age of canines. Dogs have an average lifespan of 8 - 15 years.

Screengrab of Maggie with the daily farmer, Brian McLaren. (Picture courtesy: Screengrab)

However, Maggie’s age has not been verified as McLaren lost the documents, The Weekly Times reported. The oldest dog named in the Guinness World Records is an Australian cattle-dog named Bluey (29), belonging to Les Hall of Rochester, Victoria.