Daisy The ‘Unluckiest Rescue Dog’ Spends 100 Days at Battersea

A nine-year-old mastiff cross called Daisy has been named the "unluckiest" rescue dog, after spending nearly 100 days at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

The pooch was returned to Battersea this year, however, a change in circumstances made it difficult for her owners to keep a large dog like her.

Nobody has registered an interest in her yet, mostly likely because of her age, says the rescue centre.

"When Daisy was at Battersea for the first time as a young and energetic dog, she found a home after just 15 days," says Steve Craddock, the centre manager at Battersea.

"Now, Daisy is back for a second time as an older dog, and she has still had no interest after being here for close to 100 days.

"While Daisy is in the twilight years of her life, she still acts like a big baby," he adds.

"She loves to bounce around and play with her favourite people, curl up for cuddles and is always most comfortable carrying around one of her soft toys."

Sadly, many older dogs have difficulty finding a new home.

In the past three years, Battersea has rehomed over 900 dogs aged seven and over and while the average stay for a pooch under seven years old was just 31 days.

For dogs aged seven and over this jumps up to 40 days.

"Many people prefer to rehome puppies and younger dogs, so that they can have them for their whole lives. But people often forget how much time, training and exercise younger dogs need," Craddock says.

"Older dogs, like Daisy, are already house trained and while many still have a lot of get-up-and-go, older dogs need a lot less exercise making them a lot less work for a new owner."

Craddock adds that older dogs are more relaxed than younger dogs and in many cases, they would rather just have a cuddle on the sofa and some human affection, than be running around chasing tennis balls all day.

"Older dogs have a lifetime of love to give and will cherish every moment spent with their favourite people," he adds.