This article regularly discusses health issues that may affect our pets, and often the causes are well understood and researched - ticks causing Lyme disease, for example.

However, comparatively little is known about the cause of the latest disease to hit the headlines, Alabama Rot.

It has been confirmed as causing the deaths of just 102 dogs over five years in the UK, out of a population of about eight million, but anxiety levels are high because there is no known way of preventing the disease.

Cases of Alabama Rot have been reported in many different parts of the UK (although, thankfully, not in the Isle of Man) and so dog owners can’t be advised to avoid any particular locations.

Although an environmental cause for the disease is considered possible it has not been proven, and washing off mud from your dog’s paws and legs after a walk is best practice but it may not help.

Prompt veterinary attention is the only way to give an affected dog any chance of survival.

The disease damages the blood vessels of a dog’s skin and kidneys, and causes tiny clots to form which block the blood vessels and can ultimately lead to damage of the affected tissue.

In the skin, this causes ulceration; however, in the kidney it can lead to severe organ failure.

Unexplained redness, sores, lesions or swelling of the skin (particularly on the paws or legs but also the body, face, tongue or mouth) are often the first sign of Alabama Rot, and death can occur within a matter of days. If you would like more information about the disease visit a website dedicated to it called alabamarot.co.uk

Gus is a dog who was born to get wet and muddy (whether this causes Alabama Rot or not!) and his new owners will need to be active and outdoorsy.

He is an two-year-old English pointer, a breed that was developed several centuries ago as a stylish gun dog capable of seeking out game over miles of countryside.

Gus has never been used in a shoot, as far as we know, but he loves long walks and has the incredible sense of smell that his ancestors needed.

Most reptiles have an excellent sense of smell and Octavia, the four-year-old bearded dragon, is no exception.

She uses her sense of smell both to detect danger and to ’sample’ potential food sources. She does this with her nostrils but she also uses her mouth which contains a sensory organ in the palate called the Jacobson’s organ.

Like Gus, her owner simply did not have the time needed to look after her properly, and her new owners will either need to have kept reptiles previously or make sure they do plenty of bearded dragon ’homework’ so that they fully understand the commitment involved in owning such an exotic pet.

Commitment is something Tabby Wright is certainly showing. She is the Miss Isle of Man 2017 contestant who is raising funds for the society and she has been busy with a variety of fundraising events, but the most demanding is yet to come - at 10.30am on Saturday, May 27, Tabby will be endeavouring to swim around the Tower of Refuge.

The Manx Independent recently reported on her fundraising challenge.

It’s a huge challenge and so please sponsor Tabby by visiting her page at Just Giving:www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Tabbywrightmissiom

We have another event planned for the bank holiday weekend in the PlayBarn here at Ard Jerkyll, and on Monday 29th we will be holding a ’barn sale’ of pre-owned, animal related goods (dogs, cats, birds, horses, etc.). If you’re interested in booking a table please contact Kerry on [email protected] or call her on 851672; and if you just want to come along and snap up a bargain please note that free admittance commences at 1pm.

Although the tearooms is normally closed on Mondays it will be open for the bank holiday, and so you can have a lovely home-cooked meal before or after you’ve been to the barn sale.