A huge thank you!
We'd like to wish every Scottish SPCA supporter a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - and say a huge thank you!
It's a simple fact that without public support there would be no Scottish SPCA. So thank you again to everyone who has supported our work this year by making a donation, taking on a rescued animal, calling our animal helpline to help an animal in distress or by helping the animals in our care in any other way.
This year we've been able to rescue and rehome thousands of animals who desperately needed our help, we've helped take people who have abused and abandoned animals to court and we've talked to tens of thousands of children through our free Prevention through Education schools programme - all thanks to our supporters.
Here's just a few of our rescues, investigations and rehoming stories from 2010.
The chilly start to the year brought a somewhat unique challenge to our Wildlife Rescue Centre team when the hedgehogs in their care began to become a bit, well, chubby.
The freezing outdoor temperatures meant their release back into the wild had to be delayed - and it's fair to say they rather indulged themselves by eating away and doing next to no exercise.
Their extra weight meant they wouldn't be able to curl up to defend themselves in the wild so they were put on a special calorie controlled diet until the weather cleared.
Do you remember Roe? She was abandoned taped-up in a cardboard box outside an Edinburgh golf course in October.
Thankfully she was found by a member of the public who called our animal helpline.
Now named Rosie (right), she's living happily with her new owner Andrew Edmunds and paid us a visit this week to say hello. If there was ever a perfect example of how wonderful staffies can be, it's Rosie!
Adventurous moggy Toot disappeared for two days after managing to get himself stuck in drain pipes. Here he is peeking out during his rescue.
Floorboards were lifted, concrete was taken up and holes were dug in gardens.
Ambulance Driver Tracy Cannon takes up the story. "The pipe-work was exposed and we could see and hear Toot below, meowing, but we just couldn't get access to him and eventually he moved further along the pipes and away from us.
"We traced the pipes out into the road and lifted several manholes to try to find him.
"Luckily, in the end, he responded to his owner's voice and popped his head out of one of the open manholes while we were calling his name."
Toot is pictured with owner Louise Kerr. Hopefully he's learned his lesson and won't go anywhere near a drain pipe again!
That was a successful rescue, but much of our work involves investigating cruelty and, as our supporters know, some of the cases we deal with are horrific.
Poor Amos, now named Louie, was abandoned outside our Angus, Fife and Tayside Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in a terrible condition.
He had been left in the car park in a cat carrier and was suffering from badly overgrown teeth and a deep wound to his face, possibly as a result of an infection or an attack from another animal.
You can see here how he looked > Warning: the photo may cause distress.
Unfortunately we weren't able to find whoever neglected but Louie has now been rehomed and here he is in his new home having been taken on by new owner Ann McLeod.
A Scottish SPCA investigation did, however, lead to a Kilmarnock man being banned from owning animals for life after he admitted neglecting four of his pets.
When we arrived at the man's address, our inspectors found a collie cross puppy, an adult spaniel cross, a cockatiel and a budgie in poor condition.
Inspector Arianne Harkness says of the case, "The puppy was in a particularly poor state and was severely emaciated.
"All of the animals were signed over into our care and have since been rehomed.
"We believe life bans are appropriate for cases of cruelty like this and are pleased that the man responsible won't be able to own pets again."
You can see how your support has made such a difference and how vital our work is. The New Year will bring its own challenges but together we will be able to make a real difference for those animals who will need our help.
On behalf of every animal rescued and rehomed by the Scottish SPCA, thank you once again!