MEET Rusty, the world’s “only dog with a sense of humour”, and a survivor of an animal cruelty case successfully rehomed by the RSPCA.

Rusty was one of four cocker spaniels who were found at an address in Hailsham in June suffering from serious neglect.

They all had mange, severely infected eyes and were so thin you could see their ribs.

The case ended with a caution.

After being rescued and given veterinary treatment, Rusty has now been happily rehomed with new owner Jessie Ryan.

Rusty’s story has been revealed as the country’s leading animal charity named dogs as the most abused animals in the country – with more than half of animal cruelty complaints relating to them in 2015.

Last year the RSPCA investigated 1,959 cruelty cases in East Sussex and 1,733 in West Sussex.

Nationwide there were 81,146 investigations into cruelty towards dogs – more than twice the number relating to cats.

Other cases in Sussex investigated last year include an eight-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier cross found in St Leonard, found curled up in a bin bag with only about a third of her fur.

Now named Lucy, she was described as looking “like a rhino” with long nails, swollen eyes full of puss and inflamed eyes.

Her owners had tried to treat her skin condition with medication they bought online and she had not been seen by a vet for more than a year.

Lucy was rehomed and new owner Adam Holmes, who said: "Lucy has come such a long way since she was found."

In a case relating to cats, two kittens, named by their rescuers as Bagheera and Baloo, were thrown from a car in Regent’s Way, Bognor, in September, with Baloo ending up stuck terrified up a tree.

Baloo had bruising while Bagheera fractured his growth plate but the then 12-week-old kittens have now been successfully rehomed.

Despite an investigation and appeal for information, no information about who threw these kittens was revealed.