With the recent direct hit from Hurricane Ernesto and the aftermath still very present on our resilient island in the shape of tree debris and the low hum of generators, it got me thinking about how these storms affect our animal populations, both wild and domestic.

A few days before the storm we had a couple of cheeky pups running around the garden at the clinic, escapees from their home terrain and out for a wild run, much to the amusement of my children.

We caught them, scanned them for a microchip (one had a chip, but was not registered anywhere and the other was chip free) and after a night in our clinic, the animal wardens kindly collected them and found their rightful owner.

Who knows why these two broke out, but perhaps they sensed the changes in pressure associated with the birth of a distant hurricane and went looking for a cave to hide in.

There were plenty of other pets who strayed from home due to the recent weather, most of whom were quickly reunited with their rightful owners due to them having microchips registered with their details.

Thank goodness for this wonderful system of identification. If your pet is not already microchipped, please make that a priority as it really does speed up their safe return home.

The night before the storm I had a call at 4.30am as a dog had woken his owner from sleep in a very restless state and panting heavily.

After chatting it through with his worried owner, it turns out the poor pup feared the thunder and lightning happening in the distance.

With some reassurance he settled back down and fell asleep, but it illustrates how much more sensitive our animal companions are to subtle changes in weather than perhaps we are.

Having said that, I know many people who suffer from weather related headaches and migraines, and a range of other symptoms due to pressure and weather changes. It makes me wonder if our pets suffer with similar symptoms as a storm approaches.

During the storm itself, the tree frogs went ghostly quiet, and the birds stopped their songs, all hunkered down to avoid the turbulent weather. But during the eerie eye of the storm, where the air was thick with salt and the trees were silent, I noticed that the tree frogs sang again happy to have a brief respite from the wind.

In the aftermath of the storm, we have seen some heat-related issues, skin rashes, ear infections and such like, due to the high humidity of the air.

These are common for the time of year but are amplified by the changeable weather and the debris kicked up by the high winds.

Let’s hope that is the last storm of the season, but when the next inevitable hurricane threatens our beautiful island, pay attention to the changes in your pets.

They may be able to predict the weather better than you think.

• Lucy Richardson graduated from Edinburgh University in 2005. She started CedarTree Vets in August 2012 with her husband, Mark. They live at the practice with their two children, Ray and Stella, and their dog, two cats and two guinea pigs. She is also the FEI national head veterinarian for Bermuda