Dogs, cats and rabbits come to us for rehoming for a variety of reasons, and one of the most common is that a family member has developed an allergy that they think is being caused by their pet.

People often think that their asthma is triggered by animal hair, but it’s more likely that the allergy is caused by proteins found in the animal’s flakes of skin (dander), saliva or urine.

Touching or inhaling these allergens can cause some people’s immune systems to over react, resulting in breathing difficulties that can be, quite literally, life threatening.

According to Asthma UK around 200,000 people in the UK have a severe form of the condition that requires regular admissions to hospital, but most of the estimated five million sufferers have a milder form of asthma which can be medicated and controlled.

Animal allergies can develop at any stage of life and even if you had a pet as a child and didn’t react to it, you could be allergic to the same type of animal now.

Equally, children often grow out of their allergies as they mature.

But how do you know whether animals are a trigger for you asthma, and that the cause isn’t dust, pollen or smoke?

Most people with an allergy to animals react quickly, often within a few minutes. As well as having difficulty breathing, wheezing and coughing they may also have an itchy nose and eyes, and start to sneeze.

If your asthma symptoms improve after being away from your pet, perhaps when you’re on holiday, then it is likely that you are allergic to them.

But the only way to confirm that your pet is the cause of your symptoms is to have an allergy test, which you can arrange thorough your GP.

If you are certain that your allergies are caused by your pet, but you can’t bear to rehome them, then you can take steps to minimise the problem. Besides taking your prescribed medication, you can:

â?¢remove carpets from your house so that pet dander can be swept away more easily

â?¢keep your pet out of your bedroom

â?¢ask someone who doesn’t have allergies to groom your pet regularly, either â?¢outside or at a property other than your own

â?¢wash your pet’s bedding and toys regularly, and vacuum any furniture they sleep on

â?¢keep windows open when possible

â?¢dust with a damp cloth as often as you can.

Wilson is a three-year-old Labrador cross.

Given her breed she is very likely to shed her coat quite freely and so an owner (asthmatic or not) should employ some, or all, of the precautionary measures above.

Wilson came to us because her previous owner has just had a baby, and Wilson doesn’t particularly like young children!

She is people-orientated, though, and she is a very loyal and loving dog who enjoys her cuddles.

She’s quite a nervous dog (which is probably why she’s uncomfortable around young children) and so she needs to live in a quiet, settled household where she can develop her confidence and feel secure.

Her previous owners didn’t like to let her off the lead because her recall is poor, and so her new owners will need to work on this, and be prepared to give her plenty of exercise.

Given she’s such a young dog Wilson will respond well to training, and repay the time and energy her new owners invest in her.