The Glasgow Scottish SPCA branch is absolutely bursting with life.
Glasgow Live reporter Amy was lucky enough to tag along for a while to learn more about what the staff and volunteers do, and couldn't believe the vast size of the centre as well as the sheer amount of animals they care for.
The team work extremely hard day in and day out to ensure every single animal that comes into their care is given the best shot in life, no matter what circumstances they arrive in. From the 40 cats they welcomed into their care at 9pm on Christmas Eve, to the dog who's owners can no longer afford to look after her - every animal is given so much love.
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The centre hosts 179 dog kennels, 75 of which have recently been re-purposed for cats due to a huge increase in the number of felines surrendered to them. They have homes for rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, reptiles, fish and pretty much every animal you can think of.
Senior animal care assistant, Alan Grant, told Glasgow Live: "The animals are all well-loved and receive plenty of enrichment while here. We rely completely on donations and receive no government or lottery funding, which can make things tricky at times.
"We will never turn away an animal in need so all I can say to people is please, please, please don't abandon any pets. These animals have no chance of survival in the wild, even if people think they are safe in some form of pet carrier, they're not."
A day in the life of SSPCA
Alan's enthusiasm and passion for his job is clear to see and it was my lucky day as he very kindly introduced me to Roxy, a one-year-old German Shepherd who came to the charity through no fault of her own.
I had been warned that Roxy is generally very skittish and that I should allow her to take the lead in our greeting. However, when Alan brought her out to meet me she was a totally different dog to what he described.
Thanks to Alan, and the other staff and volunteers, hard work, Roxy was more than happy to say hello to me with a waggy tail and a big smile on her face. She followed Alan's instructions exactly and was clearly a very clever girl, eager to please and, of course, get some treats!
Alan added: "All the animals come completely ready for their new home. For example, Roxy comes fully up-to-date with all of her vaccines, microchipped and is spayed. Her adoption fee is £250 which covers our fees and helps us continue doing what we do."
I was also lucky enough to meet some of the other animals currently available for re-homing. Two rabbits, Haggis and Neeps, who are around six months old and were brought to the centre and hand-reared. The pair are bonded and must stay together, but are both extremely sociable and beautiful animals.
One of the centre's main struggles at the moment is cats. Alan said: "The number of cats we are getting in is astronomical. We had 40 brought in at 9pm on Christmas Eve.
"It's sad but we are seeing more and more and they are usually in big groups - someone that maybe has multiple cats with some ending up pregnant. We wouldn't be surprised to have a group of anywhere between 60 and 80 cats handed in at the one time, which is obviously very difficult for us to manage."
The centre is in dire need of more sachets of cat food to keep up with the demand, specifically not senior cat food.
Alan added: "We really are running so low on sachets of cat food. We have so much senior cat food, possibly because people lose their elderly cat and think of us to donate any remaining food, which is so kind.
"But with the huge rise in cats being handed in to us we would really appreciate it if anyone would be able to donate some.
"Donations vary all the time but obviously we're seeing a dip just now because of the cost of living crisis. We just ask that anyone who can possibly help does as it all goes straight to the animals."
The centre have some beautiful older cats up for sale, like Shandy who is looking for a retirement home and place to chill out, and Willow and Buffy, a shy pair who love some attention and adore dinner time.
The team also struggle enormously with temporary residents. These are animals who have came into the centre as part of an ongoing court case and so cannot be put up for re-homing. Previously, staff cared for a cat for over three years while a legal battle dragged on.
The Glasgow Scottish SSPCA branch is open from 1pm-4pm daily and is based at 125 Kinnell Place, Cardonald. For more information about the animals mentioned, visit the SSPCA website here.
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