29岁宠物狗疑为全球最高寿的狗
The owners of Bella say that she is at least 29 years old.
Owner David Richardson, 76, said he got the mixed breed dog from an animal home about 26 years ago when she was at least three years old, making Bella's age more than 200 years in canine years.
But the RSPCA said it does not have any records for Bella and the Guinness World Records said without the appropriate paperwork it could not be proved.
"I'm convinced she is the oldest dog in the world," said Mr Richardson, from Chesterfield.
Gareth Deaves, records manager from Guinness World Records, said "unless we can see a doggy birth certificate or some really clear evidence from the RSPCA then we won't be able to prove Bella's age and we can't list her as the oldest dog."
According to Mr Deaves, 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 lived to 29.
贝拉的主人说她现在至少有29岁。
贝拉的主人、76岁的大卫•理查德森说，他是大约26年前从一个“动物之家”领回贝拉的，当时她至少有三岁，那么按照“狗龄”计算，这只杂交宠物狗现在有200多岁了！
但“英国皇家防止虐待动物协会”（RSPCA）称，他们没有贝拉的任何出生记录。而《吉尼斯世界纪录》称，如果没有可靠凭据，那就无法证明贝拉的真实年龄。
来自切斯特菲尔德的理查德森说：“我相信贝拉是世界上年龄最大的宠物狗。”
《吉尼斯世界纪录》的纪录负责人加雷斯•迪弗斯说：“除非我们能看到RSPCA出具的出生证明或其它一些真实凭据，否则我们无法证明贝拉的年龄，也就不能认证她为世界上年龄最大的狗。”
据迪弗斯介绍，目前世界上年龄最大的狗纪录保持者是美国的一只名叫布奇的宠物狗，它活了28岁，已于2003年去世。
此前“世界最年老的狗”纪录的保持者是一只名叫布卢伊的澳洲牧羊犬，它活了29岁。
