Reading this article could save your pet’s life - literally.

If you are worried about the health of your pet you should always seek veterinary advice, and ideally see or speak to your vet in person.

But if this is not immediately possible and you’re worried your pet may have come into contact with something poisonous a call to the Animal Poison Line, run by the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS), will either put your mind at rest or advise you to take remedial action.

The service runs 24 hours a day and there is a charge of £20.00 or £30.00 to use it depending upon the time of day, but it is staffed by poisons specialists (vets and scientists) who have experience of thousands of toxic substances in all animals and cover everything from human drugs, household and garden products, plants, agricultural chemicals to venomous bites and stings.

The VPIS telephone number - 01202 509000 - is worth keeping to-hand or logged into your mobile phone.

The most common signs of poisoning are an animal with one or more of the following: upset stomach, vomiting, excessive drooling, watery/yellowish eyes, lethargy and seizures.

And remember to keep a sample of what you think your pet has ingested or inhaled because this may help with a diagnosis.

Fungi are a potential poisoning hazard, and the recent wet and humid weather has seen mushrooms and toadstools springing up in our gardens and woodlands.

There are more than 4,000 species of fungi in the UK and the vast majority are not poisonous, but some definitely are and the most hazardous have suitably sinister names such as destroying angel, funeral bell and death cap.

Play it safe and remove any mushrooms that may be growing in your garden, particularly if you have a dog that will eat anything it comes across (most Labrador owners will have first-hand experience of this).

The only ’foodie’ we have in our kennels at the moment is an adorable three-year-old Boxer called Oscar.

He came to us a couple of weeks ago and he’s passed all his temperament tests with flying colours, and so we can fully understand why his previous owner was so heartbroken when she gifted him to us (but her ill health has given her no option). He is generally good with other dogs, but not with smaller animals, and his only other vice is that he is a bit greedy with his food.

As is common with the boxer breed Oscar is intelligent and loves to be around people, and so he shouldn’t be left alone for too long. He will also need plenty of exercise and stimulation - boxers are renowned for being playful and needing to be the centre of attention - and so he will suit an active home.

Conversely we have a very quiet cat over in the cattery who is still waiting for her new family to find her.

Clover is a beautifully marked black and white four-year-old, but she is really shy and so tends to hide away from visitors.

She is in one of our socialisation rooms and when someone sits down on the sofa she eventually comes to sit on their knee, showing that she just needs time to develop trust. Her new owner will need to be patient, but they will be richly rewarded.

And finally, don’t forget it’s the fun dog show this Sunday (September 10) at Ard Jerkyll, starting at 1pm; and the following Sunday (17th) it’s our car boot sale in the Canada Life International car park on the Isle of Man Business Park, 10am to 1pm.

There will be more than 40 ’car booters’ taking part with a huge array of items on sale, and refreshments will be available.