Hairless Chinese crested is now a much-loved pet and social media star
An elderly, hairless dog who struggled to find a new home because potential adopters thought she was ugly has landed on all four paws and found her paw-fect match with new owner Rio, who is hoping to turn her into an Instagram star!
Hairless Chinese crested Morissa arrived at the RSPCA’s Danaher Animal Home, in Essex, in April having been rescued by inspectors from a multi-animal household. Staff all loved the cheeky little pooch but were worried that her unusual looks were putting off potential adopters.
Craig Horsler, senior supervisor at Danaher, said: “Morissa is unusual and also didn’t have age on her side. At 13, she also had a number of health problems which made it even more tricky to find her the right home.”
But when Rio Maye, 28, from Wilstead in Bedfordshire, came along it was love at first sight.
Now, Morissa - renamed Morticia - has settled in with Rio and her 14-year-old chihuahua, Pea.
Rio said: “Morticia settled in straight away, she was so thrilled with her new bed that she dived straight into it and rolled around in joy!
“We introduced her to Pea - her new best friend - and our horses. She spends lots of her time pottering through the fields and loves to walk through the hills and woods.
“She is almost blind but she listens to me talking to her and when I call for her she is incredibly alert. She has memorised the furniture and snack station but does have the occasional stare at a wall thinking it's a window, we try not to giggle!
“Mort loves nothing more than being right beside me, she follows me everywhere and when I return home from work she is overcome with excitement that she throws her paws in the air and jumps for me to pick her up and cuddle her!
“I take Mort everywhere with me and have recently purchased a pushchair as some days we can be out for hours. She loves the pushchair and we recently found ourselves at a festival where she enjoyed watching the band from the comfort of her shaded pram!
“She sleeps with me in my bed and is often spooning Pea. They are incredible friends as they both enjoy the quieter life.
“Morticia has a love for life that extends to everyone. I really am the luckiest person to have found her and hope for many more years of happiness. She's a huge part of my little family and we make sure every day is spent living life to the fullest.”
Rio added: “We’re on a mission to promote rehoming senior dogs and feel Morticia is a wonderful example of the fun and love to be had with adopting a senior dog! That’s why I started the Instagram account for Mort and Pea, and I hope people will see how wonderful adopting a dog - particularly an older dog - can be.”
The RSPCA hopes Morticia’s story will help to highlight the fabulous quality of life that blind dogs can have this #InternationalBlindDogDay (23 August). The day was launched in 2017 by Cambridgeshire dog-lover Sarah Horne and her blind Jack Russell terrier Shammy.
Follow Mort and Pea’s adventures on Instagram @littleseniormoments. To adopt a dog please visit www.rspca.org.uk/findapet.