It’s the time of year when we issue our annual bonfire night hedgehog alert.

If you’re planning your own bonfire then please remember that hedgehogs like to sleep in them.

British Hedgehog Preservation Society’s advice is as follows: if the material to be ignited is stored on open ground in advance of having a bonfire, it’s crucial to dismantle it and move it to another spot just before lighting. Please make sure your neighbours do the same thing.

If you do find a hedgehog (perhaps one that’s become frightened and curled up in a ball) place it in a high-sided cardboard box with plenty of newspaper and ensure there are air holes in the lid.

Wear garden gloves so as not to get human smells on the hedgehog and to keep him or her calm as hedgehogs are easily stressed, and to protect your hands from the spikes.

Put the box in a safe, quiet place such as a shed or garage well away from the festivities, and offer meaty cat or dog food and water in a shallow bowl (but definitely not milk because they can’t digest it). Once the bonfire is totally dampened down, release the hedgehog under a hedge or a bush.

Hedgehogs are not the only creatures to become stressed by bonfire night celebrations - the RSPCA estimates that 45% of dogs in the UK show signs of fear when they hear fireworks.

Most dogs have acute hearing which exacerbates the problem. You can help your dog, and any other pets you have in your house, by drawing all the curtains, playing soothing music, and providing extra bedding so that your pet can hide under it if necessary. Make sure your pet is confined indoors well in advance of the festivities and ensure all doors, windows and cat flaps are closed/locked.

And don’t forget the pets you may have outside, such as rabbits and guinea pigs. As well as providing extra bedding, partially cover their hutch or pen with a blanket but make sure your pet can still look out.

If you have a firework-phobic pet, a longer-term solution may be to try to de-sensitise them to acute noises.

You will need a suitable recording, or you can purchase specially-designed CDs, and by playing the sound on a low volume to begin with you can gradually introduce your pet to the noise. You can then gradually start to increase the volume.

This will take time, and that’s what Keisha needs.

She is a seven-year-old Siberian husky who has a good knowledge of basic commands but who is responding really well to further training.

She’s intelligent and quick to learn, and so we would like her new owners to continue with her training.

Her previous owners had a change in circumstances which meant that they could no longer keep Keisha, and so she is looking for a new home through no fault of her own. She is stunning, with one blue and one brown eye, and she’s very playful.

Her natural exuberance means that she would be best suited to a home with older children, with new owners who appreciate her need to have plenty of physical exercise. She’s definitely not a couch potato.

She also needs to be groomed regularly, but she doesn’t need regular baths to maintain her gleaming white coat.

In fact, it’s actually much better for huskies to keep bathing to a minimum. They have a double coat of hair, with the top being waterproof and the bottom insulating, and too much bathing can strip the top coat of its natural oils. It can also dry out the skin underneath.

Please come and meet Keisha if you think you have the time to devote to her. If you have a dog already the kennels team will help to co-ordinate his/her first few meetings with Keisha, and they will give you all the advice and support you need.

And if you have some time to devote to the ManxSPCA as a volunteer in our Buck’s Road shop, we would love to hear from you. Please contact the shop’s manager, Rosie, on 678785 for further information.