A 19-year-old terrier - the oldest the RSPCA has ever taken in to rehome - has found his paw-fect match with a retired widow from Coventry.
Stormy was rescued by RSPCA inspector Herchy Boal earlier this month after he was spotted collapsed in a snowy garden in temperatures as low as -3C.
The animal welfare charity received an anonymous call on 2 March and inspector Boal was extremely concerned for the terrier - who is 92 in dog years!
His owners signed him over into the RSPCA’s care and Stormy was taken to the charity’s Birmingham Animal Hospital for a check-up before going into kennels at nearby Newbrook Farm Animal Centre.
Elizabeth Sidgwick, from Coundon, had been thinking about getting another dog when her daughter spotted Stormy’s story in the local press.
“I’d been looking for a dog for a while. I didn’t want a puppy, I wanted an older dog and I felt like I’d know when it was the right one for me,” she said. “And he is the spitting image of my previous dog, Barney, who I had for 15 years.”
She went to meet the senior pooch and knew he was the one for her. Stormy came home with Elizabeth on Sunday and is settling in brilliantly already.
“He is lovely - especially considering what he’s been through. He just wants to be loved,” she said.
“He can be a cheeky boy though. When you’re eating he thinks he should have some so he sits, stares at you and barks!
“He is just great. Everyone loves him!”
Despite a minor heart murmur and cataracts in both eyes - which have left him with poor sight - the plucky terrier is relatively healthy.
