Was Bobi the World’s Oldest Dog—or a Fraud?
“It is true that I am considered an expert on dog coat color,” Sheila Schmutz, an emeritus professor of animal and poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, told me. “At least in terms of genetics.” I sent Schmutz, who has published multiple papers about the coats of dogs and cattle, a selection of photos of Bobi taken in 1999, 2016, and 2022, and asked her whether the photos appeared to be of the same dog.Schmutz wasn’t sure. In a few photos Bobi’s fur appeared to be red, while in another it looked…