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Birthday girl gets bright new Penny

9/ 4/2008

WONDERDOG Tuppence has got a Penny for her birthday . . . and they call it puppy love.

Jack Russell terrier Tuppence, thought to be one of Britain’s oldest dogs, reached her 26th birthday on Tuesday. With seven years of a human’s life said to be equal to one in canine terms, that means she is an extraordinarily grand old lady of 182.

Her owners, Dorothy and Keith Butterworth of Fox Street, Heywood, had racked their brains to think of a suitable birthday present for their beloved pet.

But their friend Colin Simpson, of Angel Meadow, solved the problem for them by presenting them with a tiny Jack Russell puppy to keep Tuppence company.

"Like Tuppence, she’s a bitch, so it really didn’t take much thinking about when we were trying to come up with a name for the puppy. We quite like the idea of having Penny and Tuppence in the same house," said Dorothy.

"They get on really well and started snuggling up together straight away. Obviously the puppy has too much energy for Tuppence, but she seems to have given Tuppence a new lease of life."

Although Penny is a new companion for Tuppence, the pup was really a gift for Dorothy, another who has defied the odds and celebrated her 61st birthday on Tuesday. Six years ago, with just hours left to live because of liver failure, she was saved by the team at the famous St James’ (Jimmy’s) Hospital in Leeds when a matching donor organ was found.

Tuppence was thrown from a car on the M62 when she was a tiny pup and left to die on the hard shoulder, until a young couple on a motorbike spotted her and picked her up. They asked Dorothy if she would take care of her, because they already had a dog.

Many months of vets’ bills later, Tuppence was back to full health and since then has won the ‘oldest dog’ title at Heywood’s dog show several times.

"Although we have lots of vets bills to show how old Tuppence is, we have no actual proof of what day or month she was born," said Dorothy. "So we have always celebrated her birthday on the same day as mine for convenience."