A Tribute to Benji, The ’207′ Year Old Dog!

Battersea dog drinks daily half-pint and lives for 28 years

This month Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is celebrating the remarkable life of its oldest known dog, Benji, who spent most of his life enjoying a daily half-pint of Guinness. At 28 years old (that’s 207 in dog years), Benji’s long life is not only testament to a swift half, but to the invaluable work of Battersea and its supporters, who give thousands of dogs and cats a second chance every year.

Benji’s is a rags to riches story; he came into Battersea Dogs & Cats Home as a stray in 1983, aged four years old. He arrived in a poor state, with ailments including a skin condition, conjunctivitis and testicular cancer. Despite all the odds he went on to live for another 24 years, just three years shy of the title of UK’s Oldest Dog in the Guinness Book of Records.

On 17 July 1983, West London resident Marion Wadsworth and her family visited Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to adopt a new dog. Marion spotted Benji sitting quietly in a corner, missing patches of fur, and it was love at first sight. Despite the protests made by her husband and her son, Marion insisted that the sorry looking Benji was the one for them.

With the help of Battersea’s veterinary experts, and the loving care of Marion and her family, Benji was given a second chance at life, beating his cancer and slowly making a full recovery.

A distinguished old man with impeccable taste, Benji went on to enjoy a half pint of Guinness every evening, and in winter he loved nothing more than a bowl of warm milk with a dash of brandy.

Commenting on Benji’s half pint a day habit, Shaun Opperman, Head Vet at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home said, “this is certainly an unusual story and feeding Benji a half pint of Guinness a day clearly didn’t do him any harm, but it’s not something we would recommend. We are delighted, however, to hear that Benji had such a long and lovely life with Marion.”

It’s not known whether his love for a cheeky tipple helped him live to such a ripe old age, but you can bet that Marion’s endless care and affection over the last 24 years had plenty to do with it. Sadly, Benji was involved in an accident on Friday, 12 October 2007, and passed away after 28 amazing years.

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Tags:  Animal Charities