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Lazare, a Continental Toy Spaniel Papillon was born on 4 December 1995. Photo: Jeff Pachoud\/ AFP) Credit: AFP<\/p>\nFRANCE \u2013 A French toy spaniel named Lazare, believed to have been one of the world\u2019s oldest dogs, has died at the age of 30, his carer said on Friday 15 May.<\/p>\n
Contacted by AFP, Guinness World Records said it \u201cdid not receive an application or associated evidence\u201d before Lazare passed away on Thursday (14 May), so it could not confirm whether he held the record.<\/p>\n
Lazare, a Papillon dwarf spaniel with stand-up \u201cbutterfly\u201d ears, was born on Monday 4 December 1995, according to animal charity worker Anne-Sophie Moyon.<\/p>\n
He spent most of his life with the same companion until she died, and then he ended up at the charity\u2019s shelter.<\/p>\n
Lazare, a Continental Toy Spaniel Papillon was born on 4 December 1995. Photo: Jeff Pachoud\/ AFP) Credit: AFP<\/p>\n
Ophelie Boudol, a 29-year-old single mother, fell in love with the Lazare at the shelter last month.<\/p>\n
She had initially intended to find a pet for her mother, she told AFP, but instead ended up taking Lazare home to her nine-year-old son and two cats. \u201cHe had been found next to the body of his owner,\u201d she said she was told.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent half an hour sitting next to him, then I said, \u2018Listen, if nobody wants to take him, I don\u2019t mind \u2013 as long as he gets on with the cats,\u201d she told AFP.<\/p>\n
Lazare, whom Boudol called \u201cour little grandpa baby\u201d, died just weeks later. \u201cHe started slipping away in my arms last night,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was off to reunite with his first carer\u201d.<\/p>\n
At 30 years and five months old, Lazare wore nappies, could no longer hear or see, and slept almost all day.<\/p>\n
But Boudol said he was delightfully spirited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really has such an endearing personality,\u201d she told AFP earlier this week, cradling him at home in the southeastern town of Villy-le-Pelloux.<\/p>\n
When Moyon and colleagues discovered Lazare\u2019s age, they thought \u201cLazare might be the world\u2019s oldest dog\u201d, she said. They verified his birth date in two registries and filled in the paperwork to register him for a possible record, as a joke, she added.<\/p>\n