Dog owners will be able to board their pets at the Scottish SPCA’s centre in Milton – which covers Helensburgh and Lomond – from April.

Adam Downs, assistant manager told the Advertiser: “Unfortunately we had to stop our boarding service last year when the renovation of our Glasgow centre began.

“This was to ensure there was enough space for the abandoned, neglected and unwanted dogs rescued by our inspectors. However, now that our Glasgow centre is being re-built we are pleased to announce we can temporarily offer boarding once again.

“This service will run until around September, when work to re-build the kennels here is expected to begin.

“We hope locals will be pleased with this news as we had many loyal customers when our boarding facilities were on offer permanently, including those who had rehomed a dog from us.

“It will certainly be lovely to see some familiar faces again, both human and canine.” The charity has also revealed new homes for a record number of rescue pets last year with 852 animals rehomed in 2014, compared to 660 the previous year.

Joe McDade, centre manager, said: “We had a bumper year for small animals, rehoming almost 120 rodents such as pet mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs.

“The reason for the huge increase from the 50 rodents we rehomed in 2013 is because we rescued hundreds of pet rats who had been kept in appalling conditions by their previous owner.

“We also rehomed many more cats than the year before, with 346 felines finding new homes compared to 272 in 2013.

“More than 250 dogs were taken on by loving families last year and, whilst cats and dogs make up the majority of the animals we rehome, people might be surprised to learn we also find homes for other less traditional pets such as snakes and terrapins. This year we hope to find homes for even more animals and we would certainly encourage locals thinking of taking on a pet to pay us a visit. We’re open every day and always welcome new faces.” The Scottish SPCA’s centre in Milton is open daily from 10am-4pm and can be contacted on 03000 999 999.