These strange and unusual times are bringing out the very best in our community, as people offer support to those who need it and help where they can.

If you have a neighbour who is struggling to walk their dog, maybe because they’re having to self-isolate, then please be mindful of the following advice which will help keep everyone safe:

Agree, in advance, with the person whose dog you are walking what process you will be putting in place.

Walk the dog in the area surrounding the owner’s home (do not drive to a different location to walk) and keep the dog on a lead at all times.

Find a way to collect and return the dog safely, minimising the time you spend near (ideally not in) the owner’s home and maintaining a two-metre distance from each other.

Ask the owner, or someone from their household, to open and close the doors for you if possible.

Do not walk dogs from different households at the same time.

Wear gloves for the duration of the contact with the owner and their dog, and dispose of the gloves afterwards (or put them straight into a hot wash).

Use a different lead from the owner’s.

Don’t handle anything else, like your mobile phone, during the period of the contact.

Where possible minimise touching or stroking the dog.

Whilst walking, don’t allow people or other pets to come into contact with the dog.

Once you’ve returned the dog, wash the lead with disinfectant or anti-bacterial wipes, and wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.

An extra precaution is to wipe the dog down with a soft cloth both before and after the walk. Although there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 passing from pets to humans, person to person transmission could take place through a dog’s hair, collar and lead.

Last week’s article extolled the virtues of walking our dogs on the island’s beaches, particularly at low tide when there is more space to keep the dogs apart and observe social distancing.

Added to this, farmers are urging walkers to keep away from their land to minimise the risk of cross-contamination through gates and stiles - a farmer becoming unwell with Covid-19 could, potentially, have a serious impact on their ability to look after their animals.

We have a core team here at Ard Jerkyll looking after our rescue animals, and attending welfare call outs which last week ranged from an injured duck, to orphaned baby rabbits and a lame pony.

We’re still managing to adopt out dogs, cats and rabbits with new owners, but this is being done on a very careful basis, as you can imagine. Plummer terrier Gizmo will be looking for a new home soon.

One very sad call out last week was to pick up a dead dog from Archallagan plantation.

The little grey dog had been wrapped in a turquoise blanket, and had been dead for some days, but it didn’t have a microchip or collar and so we can’t trace its owner.

We think it was a poodle or poodle-cross, with longer legs than a West Highland terrier’s, but we can’t establish an age or cause of death.

Please contact us if you have any information about the dog that might help us to solve the mystery - we’re hoping that it died of natural causes and was placed in the plantation as a final resting spot, rather than there being a more sinister explanation.

This is, after all, a time for positive thinking.