In the quiet southeastern French town of Villy-le-Pelloux, a small Papillon dwarf spaniel whose remarkable age made him a candidate for a world record has passed away, closing out a gentle, decades-long life that captured local hearts just weeks before his death. Lazare, the tiny toy spaniel recognizable by his signature upright “butterfly” ears, was born on December 4, 1995, according to animal charity worker Anne-Sophie Moyon, putting his age at 30 years and five months when he died on Thursday.
Lazare spent nearly all of his life with his original owner, remaining by her side until her passing. After his owner died, Lazare was discovered next to her body and taken into the care of Moyon’s animal charity shelter, where staff soon uncovered his extraordinary birth date. Team members verified the date across two separate animal registries, and out of lighthearted curiosity, submitted the paperwork to put Lazare forward for consideration as the world’s oldest living dog. They never expected the quiet senior pup would draw public attention before he could officially claim the title.
It was just last month that 29-year-old single mother Ophelie Boudol walked through the shelter doors, planning to find a companion for her mother. What she found instead was an immediate connection with the 30-year-old spaniel, who was just one year older than Boudol herself. “I spent half an hour sitting next to him, then I said, ‘Listen, if nobody wants to take him, I don’t mind — as long as he gets on with the cats,’” Boudol told AFP. She brought Lazare home to join her 9-year-old son and two resident cats, and the small senior quickly settled into his new, loving final home.
In his final weeks, Lazare needed a little extra care: he wore nappies, had lost his sight and hearing, and spent nearly all of his days napping. Still, Boudol said his gentle, endearing spirit never faded, and the whole family affectionately nicknamed him their “little grandpa baby.” Earlier this week, Boudol held the soft-spoken pup at her home, telling reporters he retained a surprisingly charming personality despite his advanced age.
On Thursday night, Lazare passed away peacefully in Boudol’s arms. “He started slipping away in my arms last night,” Boudol said Friday. “He was off to reunite with his first carer.”
AFP reached out to Guinness World Records Friday to confirm whether Lazare would officially be recognized as the record holder, but has not yet received an immediate response. The previous presumed title holder, a 31-year-old Portuguese Rafeiro do Alentejo named Bobi who died in 2023, had his record stripped earlier this year when a 2024 review concluded there was insufficient conclusive evidence to verify his claimed age.
For Boudol and the shelter staff who cared for Lazare in his final days, however, the title was never the point — the joy of giving the old pup a loving home in his final weeks was enough to make his story matter.