It’s heart-warming when we see older dogs and cats being adopted, with new owners who are happy to provide a ‘retirement home’ that meets the animals’ needs, rather than simply looking for a new pet to fit in with their lifestyles.

These people are the unsung heroes of the pet world.

Max and Ruby are on the hunt for their hero.

Little Max is a Chinese crested powderpuff and is nine years old, and slightly larger Ruby is a Plummer terrier who is 12 years old. They’re not elderly, as such, but they are more senior than most of our rescue dogs.

They both have quite exotic breed backgrounds. Max is a Chinese crested who has hair, whereas the breed also comes in a hairless version, and we think he’s happier having a bit of insulation.

He does need regular grooming, though, to keep his lovely double-coat tangle free.

Back to origins: Chinese crested dogs are thought to have originated in Mexico or Africa rather than China, although their lineage may have been influenced several centuries ago by Chinese traders who kept small dogs on their ships as rodent control on long voyages. Over time, these dogs and their offspring were gifted to local nobility in ports around the world.

By the 19th century the breed’s distinctive looks and affectionate nature caught the attention of western breeders, leading to a rise in their popularity in the USA and Europe. Max is typical of his breed in that he’s a super friendly lap dog who loves his cuddles.

The canine love of his life is Ruby – they are a bonded pair and so we will rehome them together, even if this takes a bit longer than finding a new home for a single dog.

Ruby, as a Plummer terrier, has a less ancient lineage than Max – but it’s an interesting one none-the-less.

In the late 1960s, Dr David Brian Plummer worked as a peripatetic teacher in south Yorkshire as his day job, and as a long tail-catcher in his spare time.

He used a pack of home-bred terriers as his rodent controllers and eventually he decided to create his own breed, developing a unique strain of terrier by mixing the Jack Russell with a beagle, a fell terrier and a bull terrier.

Ruby is true to her breed type, albeit it is not a Kennel Club registered one, both in her working dog, non-flashy appearance (compact body, ‘tidy’ ears and powerful jaws). She is also a classic colour with a ‘fiery’ red coat which is arranged as a ‘cape’, meaning she has a white neck and underbelly.

Whilst Ruby is technically a working dog, her more senior years mean that her high energy days are behind her and she’s content with a slower pace of life.

Most elderly dogs are happy to replace active walks with ‘smell strolls’, interspersed with more and more time spent sleeping.

Ruby is also a good example of an older dog in that she came to us rather over weight and she’s now on a diet.

Older dogs generally need less calories and more protein to keep them healthy, and in Ruby’s case her waistline expansion was also because of a lack of proper exercise. Indeed, not having enough time for the dogs was the reason their previous owner gifted them in to us.

Max, too, shows his years with another common age-related problem – back/hip pain.

This may be the onset of mild arthritis, but could also be the result of a very small dog having to jump higher than most to reach the sofa or the back of a car.

Small foot stools, floor cushions or ramps can be used to help older dogs access higher surfaces, and putting rugs on slippery floors helps them to move about without the risk of doing the splits.

Max and Ruby are ‘easy’ dogs and although they can’t be rehomed with cats because of Ruby’s inbuilt prey drive, they could live with another dog and older children (ie not babies or toddlers).

They still have years of companionship left to give a new owner (their ‘hero’), with guaranteed love and affection in abundance.