WHEN Candy was found she had been tied up in a bag, callously dumped in a Paisley wheelie bin and left to die.

The female cat was less than a year old, underweight and had cuts to both back legs, which she sustained when trying to struggle out of the bag.

Candy had suffered great deal of distress and according to the Scottish SPCA was lucky to have survived her cruel abandonment.

A little over two years on and the contrast couldn't be more stark. Rehomed by the McIntyre family from Linwood, Renfrewshire, Candy is a happy and energetic moggy.

Every year, Scottish SPCA inspectors and rescue officers save thousands of domestic, farm and wild animals from harm and danger, while their vets and staff rehabilitate and rehome countless more.

Last year alone saw the charity rehome a record 6,719 pets.

As the Scottish SPCA launches its annual rehoming week, Lisa McIntyre, 33, explains why she and her family chose to help give a rescue animal a second chance.

"I saw a story in our local newspaper about a kitten that had been dumped in a bin and an appeal by the Scottish SPCA for witnesses to come forward," she says. "She almost suffocated and could have died had it been a more remote location and no one had found her.

"I was so upset reading about it and couldn't stop thinking about her. Two weeks later there was another story in the paper saying they were now looking for someone to give her a home. I hadn't got her off my mind the entire fortnight."

Lisa, a press officer for Renfrewshire Council, her husband David, 36, a community service supervisor and their daughter Cara, five, were determined to give Candy a fresh start.

After being collected from the Scottish SPCA animal rescue and rehoming centre in Cardonald, Candy was soon thriving in her new home.

Cara chose to name the cute feline after her favourite character Candy Cat in Peppa Pig.

"We don't know what her living conditions were like before she was dumped, but she was very clingy at first and wanted the close contact of being carried about almost like a baby," says Lisa. "After a week, though, she settled in and came out of her shell."

Candy still sometimes needs a little extra TLC due to her early ordeal. "The only sign of what Candy has gone through is when you go to change the bin bag in the kitchen," says Lisa. "She is terrified of the rustling noise. I try to do it really quietly but she still bolts when she hears it.

"Unfortunately, because she almost suffocated, Candy occasionally has a bit of a cough and wheeze. It doesn't last for more than a minute but it sounds like someone having an asthma attack.

"It is part of the long-term damage of what happened but other than that health-wise she is fine. Candy is such a happy, loving cat and part of the family now."

Another animal with a happy ending is Twink, a young dog found shut in a dirty room covered in rubbish and faeces.

There was no food or water available for her and she was extremely underweight, with her spine and ribs easy to feel through her long, fluffy coat.

Shockingly, the vet found evidence that Twink had been eating her own faeces, which demonstrates how desperately hungry she was.

Twink's former owner was banned from keeping animals for 20 years after she admitted neglecting her in court.

She has been rehomed by Vivien Adam, a television and theatre writer, from Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire.

Vivien, who has worked on shows including River City and Waterloo Road, said that she had been looking for a companion for her other dog Buachaille when she heard Twink's harrowing story.

"My previous dog Nelly had a series of strokes in 2013 and had to be put down," she says. "Buachaille went into a terrible decline after Nelly died.

"She would lie on Nelly's fleece with her head to the wall. Her eyes went all milky and we thought she was losing her sight.

"We decided it was a matter of urgency that we got another dog for the sake of Buachaille. I went to a couple of rescue centres but couldn't find a suitable match."

Vivien and her sister visited the Scottish SPCA animal rescue and rehoming centre in Hamilton where staff alerted them to Twink's plight.

Vivien told herself she mustn't be too swayed by the back story because the most important thing was finding the right pal for Buachaille.

But as soon as Vivien laid eyes on Twink she knew it was the dog for her.

"When you see the photographs of when they first found Twink, she didn't look like a dog," she says.

"She had put on some weight since she had arrived at the centre but she was still so skinny that a gust of wind would have blown her away. As soon as I saw Twink, I knew I had to take her home.

"From day one Twink was such a good wee dog. She obviously wasn't used to going out for walks because the first time I took her out it was like flying a kite, she was so excited."

As Vivien had hoped, Twink and Buachaille quickly became firm friends.

"I believe Twink brought Buachaille back from the brink," says Vivien. "Buachaille's eyes, which had gone milky when Nelly died, are clear and sparkly now."

Scottish SPCA Rehoming Week runs from May 4-10. The charity will be appealing for new homes for the hundreds of animals in their care, from dogs, cats, rabbits and rodents to horses, birds, snakes and more. For more information, visit scottishspca.org or call 03000 999 999