Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Friendships come in all shapes and sizes yet this unlikely pair of pooches have become the best of pals after joining the ranks of the longest stay dogs at Battersea Brands Hatch - spending a combined time of nearly 900 days in the Kent kennels.

Tenacious Theo is a three year old large Alaskan Malamute and double the size of feisty little Fudge, a two year old Jack Russell Terrier who makes up for his size with heaps of love and excited energy. These two abandoned dogs have struck up a pawsitively beautiful bromance as they’ve bonded in their endless quest to find new homes.

A lonely Greyhound Collie cross at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home has celebrated his two year anniversary in the charity’s care, with potential owners continuing their daily lives without him.

Millions of milestones have occurred while Bud has been in kennels – a national election, water found on Mars and the Sochi Olympics – with around 10,000 Battersea dogs finding loving homes during this time.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is seeing more and more family pets coming through its gates because their owners cannot afford to pay their vet bills. In the first half of 2015, 74 dogs arrived at the charity with serious medical conditions that needed immediate treatment.

From Dartford to Doncaster, canines from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in Brands Hatch have proved there is no distance too far for a Battersea dog, as they travelled across the country to their loving new homes in 2015.

The Dartford areas came out on top as the most likely place in Kent to have a Battersea dog, with the Rochester and Medway postcodes inching close as runners-up. Doncaster and Peterborough also made an appearance, but it was the south-east London and north-west Kent postcodes bordering the countryside rescue centre that proved to be the most popular.

From Battersea to Bugnaux, canines from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home have proved there is no distance too far, as they travelled across the entire UK and even abroad to their loving homes in 2015.

Ink the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was rehomed just metres from the south London rescue centre in Battersea, but some went further than others, with Codi the Bull Mastiff making a remarkable 570 mile journey to his new home in Switzerland last year.

An unlikely item of furniture has saved the life of a Labrador puppy from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, who used a doggy high-chair to survive a life-threatening illness meaning he couldn’t swallow food properly.

A four year old Husky from Orpington, Kent stole the show and was given the ultimate accolade of being crowned Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s Best Battersea Dog, which was sponsored by notonthehighstreet.com, at the charity’s Annual Reunion and Fun Day on Sunday 6 September.

Almost ten thousand animal lovers and their canine companions were in Battersea Park to enjoy the spectacle and make new friends.

People tend to think Christmas is the busiest time for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, however Battersea has seen a 204 per cent increase this year in the number of intake calls during the first week of the school summer holidays compared with a normal week in May.

With the school summer holidays in full swing and UK airports experiencing their busiest time of the year, the world famous rescue centre has seen a surge in the number of abandoned pets as owners head to sunnier climes.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and insurer LV= have teamed up in 2015 to celebrate the country's most talented rescue dogs. The insurer is sponsoring Battersea's Rescue Dog Agility team, showing off the finest canine athletes, all champions in their own right.

Throughout the year the skilful hounds will demonstrate their speed, pooch precision, and fido-finesse at events around the country, entertaining huge audiences and proving that rescue dogs can overcome any adversity and stay ahead of the pack.

With age comes a certain charm, and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s old timers have got that in bucket-loads.

Senior Staffordshire Bull Terriers Ace, Cane and Monty are currently the London rescue centre’s oldest and quirkiest characters looking for homes to retire to and spend their best years.

Despite their advanced years, these three ‘grumpy’ old men still have a lot of love and affection left to give.