A loving bond Ty’d us to award winner
The wait is over – it’s time to meet the winners of the Mirror People’s Pet Awards with Webbox.
Our team went through thousands of nominations to produce a shortlist for the judging panel, who chose which incredible animals and animal lovers should receive a trophy.
We’ll be revealing them every week on this page, starting with Ty, our Lifetime Achievement winner.
He captured hearts across the country when he found a loving home at the grand old age of 22. Now pooch Ty, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier Dalmatian Cross, is thriving with his new owners, listening to gospel music and enjoying walks with his doggy pals Fizz and Gizmo.
“Ty has made a huge difference to our lives,” says owner Bruno de Brito, 35, from Penarth. Vale of Glamorgan. “My heart was complete with Fizz and Gizmo, but Ty came into our lives, he found a corner, and it now belongs to him.”
Ty arrived with charity Dogs Trust in Bridgend in summer 2022 after a change in his family’s circumstances, which meant they could no longer keep him.
The team believed he was the oldest dog they’d ever cared for, and set about finding a home for the “terrific older gentleman”.
Bruno, who adopted Ty along with partner Lee Szopa, recalls: “Back then we were worried about our other dog Fizz, a Staffie, who was getting older at 16.
“Lee’s mother sent us details she’d read about Ty to reassure us that if he was 22, Fizz could have many more years ahead of her.
“But instead of taking it simply as a reason to think positively about Fizz, things took off from there. I looked at Lee and said, ‘I want him’. Luckily, Lee agreed.”
Within a matter of weeks, the pair were bringing Ty home. “The charity told us he would probably be nervous and agitated in the car home,” recalls Bruno, deputy manager at a care home. “But because I’m a carer I quickly reassured him, and he was fine. We thought he might want absolute quiet when he got home too, but he wanted to be with us and the other dogs all the time. That’s how he’s carried on.
“In the early days when we took him to the park, we’d go one way and Ty would go the other, so we’d have to change our plans and do what he wanted. But over time that’s completely changed and he’s happy to fit in with what we’re doing. He’s a beautiful, loving dog, and he’s sensitive to the needs of Fizz and Gizmo, too.”
While Ty, who is now 23, was a fan of classical music before he found Bruno and Lee, his tastes have expanded.
“I’m a devoted Christian so I play my gospel music in the house, and he really enjoys it,” says Bruno. “We’re over the moon Ty has won a Lifetime Achievement award with the People’s Pet Awards as he really is such a wonderful dog.
“Even at 23, he’s playful and intelligent. It’s an opportunity to ask people not to give up on older dogs. They are just as deserving of a loving home as any other animal.
■■Don’t miss next week’s Pet Club for another heartwarming winner.
Even at the age of 23 he’s playful, so never give up on older dogs