When our pets are ill or in pain we naturally want to help them as quickly as possible. However, instead of immediately seeking professional help by way of a visit to the vets, an estimated 1.4 million cat and dog owners in the UK take matters into their own hands and actually give their pets potentially toxic medicines designed for humans.

Dog owners across Birmingham are being encouraged to get their pets microchipped before a new change in the law comes into effect next month. As people prepare to bring their dogs to Crufts (10-13 March), Birmingham City Council is reminding owners that from 6 April all dogs must be microchipped and have their details registered on an authorised database.

Oldbury school Principal Gordon Phillips will be undertaking his tenth and final fundraising run in a bid to raise money for new playground equipment for the Meadows Sports College. Gordon, aged 63, will be racing in the Carterton 10km run on Sunday 10 April and hopes to raise £4,000 in total. All money raised will go straight to the school.

Pupils at Whiteheath Education Centre are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space. In September, 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they will spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth in March 2016.

In Selly Oak, national deafblind charity, Sense, held a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the launch of construction of a new major centre for disabled people. The TouchBase Pears centre, which is due to launch in summer 2017, will provide vital services to help disabled people in the West Midlands lead more independent lives.

City of Wolverhampton Council is offering a special Fairtrade breakfast menu at its catering facility on the Civic Centre ground floor in support of Fairtrade Fortnight until 13 March 2016. Fairtrade Fortnight is the Fairtrade Foundation’s campaign to highlight the severe lack of food security for farmers around the world.