_PL_ Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Sorry if it's been posted before :D Link to article and images - Still sprightly at 154 human years Learning new tricks at 22 (or 154 in human years) meet Billy, the world's oldest dog Blind in one eye and with not many teeth left, Billy the Yorkshire Terrier has seen better days. More than 8,000 of them, in fact. For Billy is 22 years old – the canine equivalent of a human aged 154. He is believed to be the world's oldest living dog, having surpassed the current holder of the title with Guinness World Records. Yet his owner, Betty Holdsworth, says there's lots of life in the old dog yet. He still goes for walkies twice a day and continues to act like a puppy. 'He's got so much energy,' said Mrs Holdsworth, a 71-year-old grandmother from Halifax. 'He's so affectionate and caring and he always wants to be near me. He just loves being spoilt.' Mrs Holdsworth gave Billy a home after visiting an RSPCA branch in June. His previous owner had died but left behind her diaries which included the day in 1988 on which she bought him as a puppy Mrs Holdsworth said: 'After my previous dog died, I decided I would like to get another one to replace it. 'I decided to go for an older pet because I don't know how long I will be around and a puppy would tire me out. 'They told me that they had this Yorkshire Terrier who was in a bit of a state. 'But he is not frail at all. He still loves to play and he is quite vigorous about it, playing tug of war and chasing after things to bring them back for me. 'He's not showing any signs of slowing down. I think that is at least partly because of the quality of his life. 'He sleeps at the end of the bed and has developed a taste for the best dog food. 'As soon as I got him home it was as if he had always been there.' Alex Darwell, an officer who specialises in rehoming elderly animals for the RSPCA in Halifax, said: 'Whenever Billy comes in to see us he is licking everyone's hands and keen to say hello. 'When he was brought in last year we were told that the previous owner had said he was 21 and the vet looked him over and said that was right. 'It is fantastic that he is in such good condition at his age.' Mr Darwell added: 'He has more energy than a lot of younger dogs which come in to see us. He's brilliant.' If conclusive evidence of Billy's age is accepted by Guinness World Records, he will beat the current oldest living dog, Sako Wilde. The kelpie cross from Melbourne, Australia, was confirmed as being 21 years 94 days in March this year. Billy still has some way to go, however, if he is to claim the all-time record. The oldest-ever known canine was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, which died in 1939, aged 29 years and five months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Wow, what a gorgeous story. Yay for the oldies. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous little man! I bet his previous owner is smiling down on him and his new mum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhou Xuanyao Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Ha, good on him. Aside from his cataracts and his missing teeth he looks really good ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaJ Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 "Go for Gold" Billy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Our little mixed-breed dog, Tessa (later known as Grandma) lived until she was nearly 23 yrs of age. She never had any vet problem until she was 19 yrs when she had some tooth surgery. She was an out-patient of the U of Q vet clinic. She was just like Billy... whenever she had to go to the clinic, she licked and kissed everyone. She managed fine until about 3 weeks before she had to be helped to heaven. I bet Gran's up there urging Billy to keep enjoying his great life & hit the record books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridie Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Sorry if it's been posted before Link to article and images - Still sprightly at 154 human years Learning new tricks at 22 (or 154 in human years) meet Billy, the world's oldest dog Blind in one eye and with not many teeth left, Billy the Yorkshire Terrier has seen better days. More than 8,000 of them, in fact. For Billy is 22 years old – the canine equivalent of a human aged 154. He is believed to be the world's oldest living dog, having surpassed the current holder of the title with Guinness World Records. Yet his owner, Betty Holdsworth, says there's lots of life in the old dog yet. He still goes for walkies twice a day and continues to act like a puppy. 'He's got so much energy,' said Mrs Holdsworth, a 71-year-old grandmother from Halifax. 'He's so affectionate and caring and he always wants to be near me. He just loves being spoilt.' Mrs Holdsworth gave Billy a home after visiting an RSPCA branch in June. His previous owner had died but left behind her diaries which included the day in 1988 on which she bought him as a puppy Mrs Holdsworth said: 'After my previous dog died, I decided I would like to get another one to replace it. 'I decided to go for an older pet because I don't know how long I will be around and a puppy would tire me out. 'They told me that they had this Yorkshire Terrier who was in a bit of a state. 'But he is not frail at all. He still loves to play and he is quite vigorous about it, playing tug of war and chasing after things to bring them back for me. 'He's not showing any signs of slowing down. I think that is at least partly because of the quality of his life. 'He sleeps at the end of the bed and has developed a taste for the best dog food. 'As soon as I got him home it was as if he had always been there.' Alex Darwell, an officer who specialises in rehoming elderly animals for the RSPCA in Halifax, said: 'Whenever Billy comes in to see us he is licking everyone's hands and keen to say hello. 'When he was brought in last year we were told that the previous owner had said he was 21 and the vet looked him over and said that was right. 'It is fantastic that he is in such good condition at his age.' Mr Darwell added: 'He has more energy than a lot of younger dogs which come in to see us. He's brilliant.' If conclusive evidence of Billy's age is accepted by Guinness World Records, he will beat the current oldest living dog, Sako Wilde. The kelpie cross from Melbourne, Australia, was confirmed as being 21 years 94 days in March this year. Billy still has some way to go, however, if he is to claim the all-time record. The oldest-ever known canine was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, which died in 1939, aged 29 years and five months. Billy still has all his hair as well,he must be full of the right attitude.So lovely to have a story to smile about instead of cry over. So it is true"it is not the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog" :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottychick Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 The best bit is that that lady adopted such a lovely old dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 What a beautiful little dude. Man, she's going to be lost when he passes the bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adza Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 22 wow!! living longer than my cat did Beautiful story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollee Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 God Bless both of them! What a lovely story, I wish there were a lot more like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow_wolf Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Wow. I never expected the oldest dog on record to be that high!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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