A 100-year-old dog lover has adopted an adorable Old Age Pooch (OAP) in need of a new home. Staff at Dogs Trust Manchester were delighted when Marjorie Rigby and her daughter, Angela Bottomley, visited the rehoming centre earlier this year. They told the team they were looking for an older, small dog who was full of fun but enjoyed a cuddle and an afternoon snooze.
Straight away the team knew they had the ideal canine companion for Marjorie – eleven-year-old Patterdale Terrier, Paddy.
“Sometimes things just work out perfectly and that was definitely the case when Marjorie met Paddy,” said Dawn Bishop, Dogs Trust Manchester Manager.
Marjorie knew exactly what she was looking for in a four-legged friend and Paddy was the ideal match for her.
“We couldn’t believe it when she mentioned her age but that made us even more convinced they were a perfect pair because although they are both older, they both love life and have a twinkle in their eye.”
Marjorie, who was born in Stockport and now lives in Dukinfield with Angela, says Paddy – who is 77 years old in dog years – has settled in perfectly and she can’t imagine life without him.
“We have a lovely routine together,” says Marjorie (talking before the coronavirus lockdown). “We all have breakfast and then it’s time for his first walk, unless it’s raining very hard as he doesn’t like the rain, so we have to wait until the weather improves! He loves his walks and when he gets back he is still full of life and likes to run around playing with his toys.
“He loves to be stroked and cuddled which is just what I wanted and in the afternoon we relax together, have an afternoon nap, then it’s time for walkies again and tea. It’s lovely.”
During the Second World War Marjorie was a plotter in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), taking information about enemy aircraft positions and plotting them on a map so that German raids could be monitored. Just three days before the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, Marjorie married Charlie, a Desert Rat, who passed away in 2004.
“None of it seems that long ago really! I still remember so much and me and Charlie had a wonderful life together, but some of my earliest memories are of Bess, a black Labrador, who my family had when I was a teenager,” says Marjorie. “She was gorgeous and that was when my love of dogs started.”
Marjorie and Angela had another rescue dog, Shadow, who died aged fifteen, as well as several cats and now Marjorie says she feels a house isn’t a home without a pet.
“Paddy makes us laugh every day. He is very funny. He howls along to the Coronation Street theme tune every single time it comes on and it’s one of my favourite programmes, so we have to mute the theme tune. He might be small, but he can definitely make himself heard!
“I knew I wanted a dog that was looking for a retirement home, who I could spoil, and Paddy is perfect. It’s lovely to see him so happy and he brings so much joy to us. It’s wonderful. We both have a spring in our step now!”
