A 22-year-old pooch, believed to be the oldest ever rescue dog in Britain, has found his happy ending after settling into a new forever home. Ty, the Staffordshire bull terrier Dalmatian cross, has been on the hunt for a permanent place to retire since a change in his family's circumstances left him homeless in August.
The animal welfare team at Dogs Trust Bridgend took Ty in and made a plea to find the Older Age Pooch (OAP) a home as soon as possible. Their wish came true when a couple saw Ty advertised on the charity's website and instantly fell in love. Now, the old boy has a final resting place to listen to his favourite classical music and snuggle up.
Bruno de Brito and Lee Szopa, from Penarth, didn't intend on adopting a third dog, but couldn't resist the "terrific older gentleman".
"We have two other dogs, six-year-old Gizmo, a Chihuahua cross, and our beautiful 15-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier Fizz, who we adopted ten years ago," Bruno explained.
"Lee has been concerned that Fizz is getting on in years and one day his mum sent us the information on Ty from Dogs Trust's website to reassure him that Fizz could have many, many more years to enjoy life.
"That had unintended consequences! As soon as we read about Ty we knew we wanted to go and see him and find out if we could give him the new home he deserved."
Just days later, Bruno and Lee headed to Dogs Trust Bridgend to meet the team.
Ty was introduced to Gizmo and Fizz and all went well, and it was decided they were the family Ty had been waiting for and the Dogs Trust team had been dreaming of for him.
"It was love at first sight, for all of us! Ty and Fizz are now inseparable, even sleeping by each other's side," Bruno said.
"We all go out on walks together and Ty is like a puppy! We didn't expect him to be as lively as he is, but he is full of life and it's fantastic.
"For the first couple of weeks he was understandably a little anxious but now he is so happy.
"He can be a stubborn old gent so if we're out on a walk and planning to go one way but Ty wants to go the other, we tend to go the other!
"He makes us laugh and we are so glad we could give him a home. He's brilliant."
Melissa Cook, assistant manager at Dogs Trust Bridgend, commented: "It is always fantastic when our dogs find their perfect family, but when it's an older dog it's very special.
"Given Ty's age, how we felt to see him head off with Bruno and Lee and his new doggie family is beyond words.
"Ty is a gorgeous dog, full of fun and full of love and we are so pleased he is back at the heart of a family who adore him."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
