Gorgeous Tilly is a 15-year-old Beagle who came into Oldies Club dog rescue when her owners could no longer give Tilly the time she deserves. Tilly is in a foster home near Banbury in Oxfordshire, waiting for someone to offer her a permanent home.
Summary: As you can see from the photos, Tilly is absolutely beautiful, and she certainly knows how to pose for the camera! Sizewise she is 16″ at the shoulder and she weighs 12kg. Despite being fifteen, she is very energetic and loves to have a run around in a safe, enclosed area. She’s very good with other dogs and could also live with sensible, older children. The only thing she doesn’t like is when the vet tries to get a blood sample, and who can blame her for that!
Settled gradually in foster: Tilly was understandably a little anxious about finding herself in a new place, but she became less anxious after 3 days and was properly settled within about 3 weeks. She is fine to be left alone for a few hours, and will just sleep, but she does enjoy company. People who work from home, or only go out to work part-time, would be fine for Tilly.
Good with dogs: Beautiful Tilly has been friendly and gentle with all the dogs she has met and spent time with. We were told that she grew up with other dogs. Tilly would be happy to live with calm, gentle dogs in her new home.
Unknown with cats: Tilly has never lived with cats, and although she seems to ignore them – or perhaps doesn’t notice them – we are looking for a cat-free home for her.
Good with children: Tilly is friendly and gentle with children. She met a toddler in a cafe, and a 9-year-old in her foster home who played with her. Both occasions were supervised and not for long periods. She also lived with children in her previous home. As she’s an older girl, Tilly wouldn’t want to live with very young children, but older (10+), sensible children who would respect her need for plenty of quiet time should be fine.
Sleeping arrangements: Tilly sleeps well at night, in a donut bed in the kitchen, as demonstrated below.
Enjoys on-lead walks: Tilly is deaf so she stays on the lead on walks as she can’t hear you call. Generally, she walks really nicely on the lead. It’s best to attach the lead to the front of her harness so that if she pulls it turns her round (rather than have it attached to the top) and doesn’t affect her back legs which were slightly weak when she arrived in foster. Now that she is on an anti-inflammatory, and getting regular exercise, her back legs have improved. If she has a short walk she is fine with the lead attached to her collar. Tilly has a lot of energy for an older dog and still loves to run in short bursts – her foster carers run with her and she loves this. Her carers told us: “We take her out for varied lengths of time – usually depending on the weather as she isn’t keen on the rain. The least is 10 minutes (heavy rain) and the longest has been 90 minutes. Generally, it’s 30 minutes in the morning and again later in the afternoon. She likes to have her meal after her walk so we time it to coincide where we can. In between we let her out into the garden where she likes to sniff the air, potter or do zoomies.”
OK in the car: Tilly wears a harness connected to a seat belt tether. She stands in the middle of the back seat and looks out of the windscreen or occasionally stands on the arm rests and looks out of the side windows. She is a little anxious (or possibly excited) and will pant and occasionally whine. She is not car sick and jumps down out of the car with ease (with her lead back on). She sometimes needs a helping hand to get into the car but will put her front paws on the door opening and try to get herself in. She then gets up onto the back seat.
Tilly’s favourite pastimes: Tilly loves puzzle toys, treats, Whimzees for her teeth, her meals, and a licking pad as she loves food. She enjoys walks, running for short periods and zoomies around the garden. She also enjoys having a professional groom and allows them to clip her nails. She enjoys looking out of her foster carers’ french doors into the garden, and snuggles on the carpet.
Tilly’s dislikes: She does not like being held tightly, so objected to having her bloods taken at the vets. She is not keen on having drops put in her ears although it can be managed with the distraction of squeezy liver paste. She doesn’t settle when taken to new places – repetition is key.
Tilly’s ideal new home: She needs someone who is mainly at home and has the energy to run with her when she wants to. A home where she can sleep when she wants, and follow you from room to room. A secure garden.
Health notes: Tilly is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and has been flea and worm treated. She has been prescribed Loxicom for her stiff back legs, which she has with her first meal of the day, and this will be ongoing. She is also having half a calming chew each morning, and she sleeps in a room with a calming scent and she does appear calmer on car journeys. Her foster carers apply ear drops every few days as that helps with the build-up of wax. Tilly is deaf and her eyesight isn’t 100%. Her check-up blood test showed a raised liver enzyme, but an abdominal scan found no issue with the liver. She has a tiny lesion on her gallbladder, and the right adrenal gland is slightly enlarged. Due to Tilly having no apparent symptoms, and being an older girl, the vet recommended no further investigation. Tilly is energetic and seems very fit and well in herself.
More from Tilly’s foster carers: “Sweet, gentle, cheeky and fit, the phrase ‘age is but a number’ totally applies to Tilly as she still has so much younger-dog energy about her. She sleeps beautifully through the night and will sometimes bark at you to let you know she wants to go to bed! A couple of small dog biscuits then lights off and that’s it for the night. She may look like an angel but woe-betide you if you leave food unattended and within easy reach – although if we accidentally drop food on the floor, her eyesight isn’t what it used to be, so we tend to get to it before she does. She has learnt to let us know she needs to go into the garden by standing by the door; if we are not near the door she may bark at us. Although not a fan of the rain, as soon as her harness or lead come out, she is up for a walk. She is happy to be dried with a towel on her return. We put her meals in a slow feeder bowl as otherwise it is gone in seconds. We have taken her to a secure dog field where she was very happy off the lead and went exploring. She has also been to a few pet stores and so far hasn’t stolen any food, just the shop assistants’ hearts“.
If you would like to offer Tilly a permanent home, please read our Adoption Procedures for information about the adoption process. You can then contact the Oldies Club rehoming team as follows:
Email: rehome@oldies.org.uk for an application form.
Or phone 0844 586 8656, leaving a message including your email address, and we’ll email an application form.
Tilly can be rehomed anywhere on the UK mainland – the closer to her foster home the better – subject to a satisfactory home visit. Note that you will be required to travel to the foster home to collect her.
If you would love to offer a home to an oldie but your circumstances aren’t suitable, perhaps you would be kind enough to sponsor one of the special oldies we are caring for that, due to health problems, are unlikely to be offered a permanent home.