An animal welfare charity rehomed hundreds of animals in the last year, which it said was a tough one for its volunteers.

The RSPCA shelter in Braypool Lane in Patcham, Brighton, rescued and rehomed more than 650 animals over the past 12 months as part of its continued efforts to promote animal welfare.

Branch manager Jenny Eden said: “It’s been hard. No day has been the same, you never knew what was going to come through the door.

“We were mega busy, but that is basically life at the moment. We’re seeing more animals come through in all species, and it’s quite hard to put your finger on why.

“We’re seeing a lot more challenging animals, animals with behavioural issues, animals with serious health conditions.

“We’ve had more puppies than we’ve ever had.”

These included three chihuahua-dachsund pups, Chickpea, Pinto and Lima, who were found abandoned in a cardboard box. They were three weeks old.

The RSPCA kept them until they were old enough to be rehomed. Jenny said: "They were little beans with big bulgy eyes."

​One of the shelter’s longest residents, a staffy cross, found a permanent home last year.

Jenny said: “Rupert came into us absolutely terrified. He’d been beaten, ill-treated, he wouldn’t let anyone near him for absolutely ages.

“We really needed that special home for him, and a lady came forward – she was amazing.

"She came and met him time after time so he would feel comfortable, and that’s an amazing feeling, to see a dog who’s been through so much to live a happy life.

Rupert found his permanent home in November.

Jenny added: “Pretty much all of us cried when we saw him leaving happy for his new home.”

“When you’re looking back through the volume that we’ve gone through, and the amount of stories – each one comes through with its own story.

“It's one level of extreme to another.”

The Argus: Rupert spent almost two years at the shelterRupert spent almost two years at the shelter (Image: RSPCA)

Jenny launched a fostering scheme at the RSPCA branch in 2022, where people can take an animal into their home until a permanent owner is found.

She said: “It’s for people who are probably not able to take on a permanent pet, but want that animal companionship.

“Our fosterers are really special people who will take an animal and give them that love and attention they need.

“We do fluctuate in the number of fosterers we have, because they have a tendency to adopt the animal afterwards.”

There are four dogs and 12 cats in foster care at the moment.

Jenny said she was looking forward for 2023, adding: “We want to do as much on our site to help us work better with our animals. That’s around both fundraising and physical improvements.

“We’re trying to work out our fundraising calendar at the moment.”

Theo and Fidget are just two of the many dogs up for adoption at the shelter, which Jenny describes as the most "gorgeous staffies".

She said: "They absolutely adore each other, and they need to go as a pair - but we've had virtually no interest in them."

The Argus: Theo and FidgetTheo and Fidget (Image: RSPCA)

The branch is the only dedicated reptile rescue within the RSPCA, with over 150 reptiles in the shelter at any given moment.

Jenny said: “We take from all over the country, right from the commonly kept species like geckos and bearded dragons right to the far more specialist things.

“I’ve got an expert team of staff that know an awful lot about reptiles.

“The idea of rescuing a reptile is a very new concept, and one of the challenges that I really want to work on this year is getting that pre-loved reptile message out there.

“We also get stowaways, things that come in people’s suitcases. We recently picked up a frog from a bunch of bananas in Lidl.”

To fund all of this, the charity launched three new charity shops in Brighton, Worthing and Haywards Heath, to support its endeavours. The shelter is a separately registered branch of the RSPCA, meaning it is responsible for raising its own funds.