In 2017 a heavily pregnant stray Dalmatian was brought to the leading animal welfare charity’s Old Windsor centre where she gave birth to a staggering 11 puppies – many of whom looked more like Spaniels than their mother. Four years later, five of the crossbreed siblings, Logan, Lola, Jet, Oscar and Skye came face to face for the first time, albeit virtually.

Caroline Sales, Battersea Team Leader and proud owner of Jet, said: “At Battersea we always love receiving updates from owners, but chatting to owners live over a group call made this extra special, not to mention a little chaotic. While the dogs may not have fully understood what was going on, it was lovely to see so many members of Jet’s four-legged family and share stories with their owners. Hopefully it won’t be too long until we can all meet in person, perhaps even one day reuniting the whole litter.”

During the online reunion, some of the littermates were joined by their human brothers and sisters to celebrate the day dedicated to siblings - all of whom were keen to sing their pets’ praises for “always playing games with them” or “giving them cuddles”.

While the family resemblance wasn’t always evident – particularly with Logan, who looks less like a Spaniel than his brothers and sisters - the owners were all pleasantly surprised by just how similar the dogs’ personalities were even after so long apart.

The owners also shared their reasons for choosing to give their rescue pups a home when they did, with Lola’s owners Helen and Peter Graham explaining that they have always adopted rescue dogs because “there’s something special about them, they’re incredibly loyal” while Donna Phillimore, owner of Oscar, talked about losing her previous dog, and the timing of deciding she and her husband Glen were ready for a new pet to love coinciding with Oscar being ready to go to a loving home, describing it as “a great new chapter”.

Battersea is here for every dog and cat, even long after they have left the charity’s care and gone to new homes. Battersea believes that all dogs and cats are special, no matter their size, shape or, in this canine family’s case, mysterious mix of breeds. To find out why rescue animals make the best pets, visit the Battersea website, or join the rescue movement by using #RescueIsMyFavouriteBreed.