Labrador Marking Milestone 23rd Birthday Warms Hearts

A video of an old Labrador retriever celebrating his 23rd birthday has gone viral on TikTok, where it received at least 3.5 million likes at the time of this writing.

The clip posted by the TikTok account @thejoebrown, which shows the senior dog slowly walk toward a person across the front lawn of a house, was shared with a message overlaid on it that read: "When your dog made it to his 23rd birthday today."

A caption shared with the video said: "Happy Birthday Buster Brown #olddog #seniordog #birthday #dog."

According to the Guinness World Records website, most dogs live for around eight to 15 years, and "authentic records of dogs living over 20 years are rare and generally involve the smaller breeds."

Could the Labrador in the latest video be the world's living oldest dog? In May 2022, Guinness World Records said the world's oldest living dog was reported to be a toy fox terrier born on March 28, 2000. That dog was recorded to be 22 years and 59 days old at the time of the report.

The "greatest reliable age" recorded for a dog was reported to be 29 years and 5 months for an Australian cattle-dog named Bluey. "Bluey was obtained as a puppy in 1910 and worked among cattle and sheep for nearly 20 years before being put to sleep on 14 November 1939," according to Guinness World Records.

An April 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Reports explained that "the average lifespan and mortality profiles of individual breeds may differ among national dog populations for a wide range of genetic and healthcare reasons," that vary across the globe.

For example, on average, Labrador retrievers lived 14.1 years in Japan, 12.5 years in the U.K. and 10.5 (median) years in Denmark, the study said.

The study found that among 30,563 dogs who died between January 1, 2016 and July 31, 2020, life expectancy at birth was 11.23 years and female dogs had a greater life expectancy (11.41 years) than males (11.07 years).

Jack Russell terriers (12.72 years) and French bulldogs (4.53 years) were found to have the longest and shortest life expectancy, respectively, at birth.

A 14-year study of Labrador retrievers conducted by researchers at the Purina Institute found that when dogs were fed to maintain a lean body condition from puppyhood onward, lean-fed dogs lived better for longer.

The dog's median life span was extended by 1.8 years (15 percent). The mean life span for lean-fed dogs was reported to be 13 years, compared with 11.2 years for control-fed dogs, according to the study.

Several TikTokers were moved and inspired by the Labrador in the latest viral video.

Kimberly Ward wrote: "23????????? That's amazing! I wish they could live forever. [teary-eyed emoji and floating hearts smiley face emoji]," while Demi Bagby said: "No way this is incredible."

In a comment that got over 12,000 likes, sofija asked: "What do you feed him lol [laugh out loud] I need to know."

Usrwe michelle's flock said: "He looks so healthy and happy and amazing for 23 years [floating hearts smiley face emojis]," while Ashley Macias simplye wrote: "MY HEART [crying floods of tears emoji and white heart emoji]."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster and Guinness World Records for comment. The latest video has not been independently verified.