Woman, 108, said the secret to a long life is having dogs instead of children

'Have dogs, not kids!'

Ada Daniel, who lived at Codnor Park Care Home in Derbyshire since 2015, turned 108 in 2023.

She made headlines after almost 300 birthday cards were sent to her following an appeal from the care home for 108 cards.

The centenarian said that the secret to her longevity was choosing to have dogs instead of children and to “keep going”.

Throughout her life, Ada owned "a lot of greyhounds, and suggested her preference for animals had helped her reach the age of 108.

Care home activity coordinator Kelly Goucher told the BBC that the pensioner is "definitely a character."

"I did ask her what her secret was once and she said it was to have dogs, not kids," she told the broadcaster.

"She had a lot of greyhounds. She lived on Street Lane in Ripley and all of her greyhounds were also called Street Lane."

Ada liked to spend her days playing board games, with dominoes being her favourite game.

The appeal for 108 cards came about because sadly Ada didn't have "a lot of family left.”

So, in an effort to still make sure she had plenty of birthday cards, Goucher launched an appeal on her local Facebook group asking for “108 [birthday] cards for 108 years” to be sent to Ada.

"I woke up to 135 messages the following morning of people wanting to send cards,” she said.

That number then grew to over 300 people wanting to send Ada their well wishes, with banners, balloons and an afternoon tea also donated so that she had a day to remember.

According to the Derbyshire Times, Ada was born in Ambergate, in 1915.

At the age of 27, she married her late husband Percy - who fought in the war - in 1944. The pair didn't have any children and Percy passed away at 73 years old.

The care home said she passed away in 2023 at the age of 108, per the Express.