IT’S a long stretch by any stretch of the imagination – 10 years in kennels. That’s 70 dog years.


Now border collie Errol, 12, is hoping someone will give him a happy home in 2008.


Errol was left at kennels in the summer of 1997 with his brother William.


Their owners desperately wanted to keep them together but struggled to find a home with room for the pair who kept escaping from their garden. Last year William died leaving Errol all alone.


Now the owners of the Gemini Kennels in Wickford, Essex, are hoping this could be Errol’s year.


Owner Michael Knight, 51, said: “We couldn’t home Errol and William together because some people don’t want to take on two dogs and we weren’t prepared to split them up. But now William has gone and Errol is a bit older, we feel it’s time for him to move on.


“There is nothing like a home environment for a dog to live out their final years.”


He added: “Even though he has been loved and looked after over that period of time, in doggy years he has spent 70 years here. It is so sad.


“He is fit and healthy, he just has a few teeth missing. He is not aggressive at all and he is still full of life. After his brother died he fretted for a while but now he is fine. Dogs these days can live until they are 17 so he could have a long and happy retirement with the right person.”


Mr Knight, who runs the kennels with Eunice Reece, 50, said Errol was a fun-loving pet. They are looking ideally for a family or an elderly couple.


He said: “Errol is a very happy dog and just a big ball of fluff.


“We are looking for someone who will love him throughout the time he has left, preferably a family with teenagers or an elderly couple. He loves long walks.


“We’ll be sad to see him go but we want to find the right home for him. That is our aim for all the dogs at our kennels.”