A woman who just turned 108 told the secret of her record longevity: raising dogs, not children.
Ada Daniel was the proud owner of many greyhounds when she was younger and joked that her canines were the secret ingredient to a long life.
Ada has been living in a nursing home in England since 2015. When her 108th birthday was about to arrive, the geriatric asked in the networks to send a card to Ada so that she could feel accompanied. The response was overwhelming.
The nursing home where he lives celebrated a nice birthday.
Staff at the nursing home surprised her with hundreds of cards at her intimate birthday party, which also included afternoon tea, a cake and colorful balloons.
Kelly Goucher, the home's coordinator, told the BBC: "Ada doesn't have much family left. She never had children, so she has no grandchildren. That's why it's very important that she feels accompanied, even by people she doesn't know."
Neighbors sent postcards to Ada so that she feels accompanied on her 108th birthday.
Kelly decided to share the particular news on a local Facebook page and was surprised at how many people wanted to send their best wishes. "I woke up to 135 messages the next morning from people who wanted to send cards," he said.
Kelly explained that Ada had no children, but was the mother of many furry babies at one point. "I had a lot of greyhounds," he said.
"He's definitely a character. I once asked him what his secret was and he said it was to have dogs, not children."
Ada, who is believed to be the 65th oldest person in the UK, also said "keeping busy" helped her overcome adversity.
The Briton was born on June 1, 1915, in the midst of the turmoil of the First World War, and saw 23 prime ministers pass in England, five monarchs and survived many wars and two pandemics.
Ada said "keeping busy" helped her survive.
In 1944, at age 27, she married her husband, Perry. When he died aged 73, Ada remained at the cottage until recently, when she moved to Codnor Park just five years ago.
From that moment on, she was always happy and accompanied.
