MAGGIE the Kelpie, touted as possibly the world’s oldest dog and thought to be 30 years old, passed away peacefully last night.

Her owner, Woolsthorpe dairy farmer Brian McLaren, confirmed the sad news this morning.

Brian said when he went home last night Maggie was tucked up in her bed, and he found her there this morning when he arrived at the farm.

“She was 30 years old, she was still going along nicely last week, she was walking from the dairy to the office and growling at the cats and all that sort of thing,” Brian said.

“She just went downhill in two days and I said yesterday morning when I went home for lunch ... ‘She hasn’t got long now’.

“I’m sad, but I’m pleased she went the way she went.”

World’s oldest dog? media_camera Brian McLaren and his dog Maggie, Woolsthorpe. Mr McLaren remembers his youngest son, Liam, was four years old when they bought Kelpie Maggie as a young pup. Liam is now 34. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin 1 of 14 media_camera Brian McLaren and his dog Maggie, Woolsthorpe. Unfortunately Mr McLaren has lost Maggie’s ownership papers and any proof she has broken a world record. Given that the world’s oldest verified dog was an Australian Cattle Dog called Bluey, who died in 1939 aged 29 years, Maggie’s long life is remarkable. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin 2 of 14 media_camera Brian McLaren and his dog Maggie, Woolsthorpe. Dairy dog Maggie of Woolsthorpe could well be the oldest pooch in the world. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin 3 of 14 media_camera Brian McLaren and his dog Maggie, Woolsthorpe. In human years, Maggie would be approaching her third century. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin 4 of 14 nav_small_close Want to see more?( 10 more photos in collection )Continue to full gallery nav_small_left nav_small_right

Maggie has already been buried, beside the McLaren’s other dog in a marked grave under a pine tree.

“We were great mates, it is a bit sad,” Brian said.

Maggie made headlines across Australia and even around the world after her and Brian featured in The Weekly Times last November.

Kelpie Maggie was believed to be 30 years old — in human years she would have been approaching her third century.