It has been a busy day here - and about to get busier.

But before the polls close - and as so many of you have sent us in pictures of your dogs, cats, horses and snakes (yes, really) - we are going to take a minute to share a few more pictures of animals at polling stations.

Image source, James Gregory

Image source, David Walker

Image source, Stef Jones

Image source, Steph Chopra

Image source, Getty Images

As we're getting closer to the polls closing at 22:00 BST, some of you may be pondering how to stay up through the night to catch all the latest developments.

Fret not, as BBC's health and science correspondent James Gallagher has spoken to sleep experts to come up with a guide to help you ward off the sleepiness and see democracy in action.

From the four-nap plan to managing sugar levels, here's a handy guide on how to make it through the night for the election aficionados.

We're not just in the market for dog pictures - other animals sporting fur, scales or spikes are also very welcome.

Here are Tuti and Gustav Robert the First, who have both gone on excursions to polling stations today. Keep scrolling for a slightly less conventional, but still furry, friend.

Image source, Ryan Lewis

Image source, Amy Macclesfield

Image source, Naomi Sturges

In about an hour, at 22:00 BST, polls will close across the UK in the general election. Anyone who is in the queue at a polling station before then will still be allowed to vote.

As soon as as polls close, we will learn the results of the exit poll, which will give us an estimation of who has won the election.

The exit poll is carried out by polling company Ipsos, jointly for BBC News, ITV News and Sky News.

Voters at more than 130 polling stations will have been approached by Ipsos researchers as they leave today and asked to fill in a mock ballot paper to indicate how they voted.

The results allow BBC analysts to forecast approximately how many seats each party has won across Britain. There are no seat forecasts for the Northern Irish parties.

Ben Morris
Live reporter

Now, most dogs have to stay outside the polling station while their owners vote.

But Eric was among those allowed in - because he was helping his partially-sighted owner, Fiona Waterspring, as she cast her ballot.

“Eric is my best friend and allows me to go anywhere I want, whenever I want,” Fiona said.

According to reports, he was a very good boy.

Image source, Fiona Waterspring

With a little under 90 minutes to go before polls close at 22:00 BST, we're bringing you more photos of pets at the polling station.

In the latest batch, we've got furry friends Jasper and Nova, and Sunny the parrot joining in on the fun.

Image source, Shaun

Image source, Gareth Whiting

Image source, Sarah Pearce

Image source, Sarah Pearce

Munaza Rafiq
BBC disability producer

Tom Skelton is 36 and lost almost all of his sight due to a genetic condition. Today, Tom was able to vote completely in secret using a combination of apps on his smartphone. In previous general elections, Tom says he had to be assisted by a companion, meaning his vote was never fully independent.

At the polling station today, Tom used apps that can read images out loud along with magnification apps to help him vote. One of the apps did not prove completely reliable and Tom says this meant “voting was a slow and lengthy process”. Despite this, Tom says he was able to vote for his intended candidate and - importantly - he did so in secret.

Tom added that, while the technology worked for him this time, many people in the blind or partially-sighted community don’t have access to a smartphone so this is not a solution for the vast majority who still cannot vote in secret.

Lola, a 12 year old Bengal cat, followed her owner Simone Gonzales out of the house and all the way to the local primary school to vote in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

Simone said she was surprised Lola followed her and her children into the polling station, where the clerks “laughed their heads off” and had to hold the cat whilst Simone cast her ballot.

Bengal cats are known to be adventurous felines, and Lola has certainly proven that true.

Your next dose of pups at the polls is here.

Remember, we are on sit and stay orders until the polls close at 22:00 BST, then we can start yapping about the election again.

So stay tuned for plenty more pets to keep us rolling over until then.

Image source, Stan Jackson

Image source, Hannah Monaghan

Image source, Amy Delicata

Image source, Deb Hepburn

Jamie Whitehead
Live editor

Image source, Jason Dittmer

All eyes are on the UK election today - but in a few months time, all that attention will be focused on the US as it chooses its new president.

And Professor Jason Dittmer is going to get a say in both, having moved from the US state of Georgia to the UK in 2007.

Now a British citizen, he has been describing the very different experiences of voting on either side of the pond.

“Voting takes longer in the US,” Jason explains, “because American elections are usually on a regular schedule, they often cover multiple things. In my last American jurisdiction we even elected the coroner.

“Some people even bring cheat sheets to remember how to vote in each race or question."

So the UK system left him "amazed".

“Walk in, walk out, the whole thing takes two minutes at most."

And while some votes are completed using the pencil and paper system used in the UK, other areas might use touch screens, or even by colouring in bubbles on a sheet of paper.

But both countries now require some form of photo identification to let you cast your ballot - particularly controversial in the US, says Jason, as citizens have a constitutional right to vote.

Jason will not be heading home to vote come November as he'll be voting by post - giving him time to think about all those down-ballot positions.

"Seventeen years later, I still get to help decide who the coroner will be in Statesboro, Georgia,” he laughs.

We're getting closer and closer to the polls closing - but there is still time to vote if you haven't had a chance yet.

Remember polling stations will close at 22:00 BST, but don't panic if you arrive and there's a queue - as long as you joined the queue before, external that time you'll be able to place your vote.

However, as we approach the deadline it's even more important to remember your photo ID and to check the address of your local polling station (you can find this on your poll card or through the Electoral Commission website, external).

A record number of candidates are standing in this year's general election - with more than 4,500 contenders standing to be elected in the 650 constituencies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Still wondering who is standing in your constituency?

You can look it up here.

If you're looking for variety, we've got you covered.

In among the multitude of dogs that have had diversions made to their daily walks since 07:00 this morning, two chickens have just been spotted clucking towards their local polling station.

Image source, Keith Gunning

Image source, PA Media

Glasgow City Council has reassured voters their ballots will still be counted after incorrect advice was spotted at a polling station today.

Posters at Notre Dame primary school told people to number their chosen candidates in order of preference, using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, rather than marking a single "X" under the first-past-the-post system.

The council told BBC News that a "few" voters in the Glasgow West constituency had seen the advice, which was taken down quickly. It is not known whether anyone followed the advice.

It said that ballots would still be counted and that whoever has a "1" next to their name on the ballot paper will receive the vote.

• Read more here

It's been a day (and a page) filled with a variety of animals sitting, standing or slithering outside polling stations around the country.

But why?

It's because our coverage is restricted while voting takes place, usually to uncontroversial factual accounts like what's the weather's doing and, of course, pictures of dogs at polling stations.

You can find out more about how the BBC reports polling day here.

And because we know you can never have enough of a good thing, here are a few more pictures of pooches.

Image source, Sam Nogalski

Image source, Scott Cohen

But if you really can't get enough of the menagerie of animals we've featured on this page today, you can check out a few of our favourites all herded together here.

Munaza Rafiq
BBC disability producer

This morning Khadija Raza was able to cast her vote independently and in secret. It’s an experience that’s not afforded to everyone who is blind or partially sighted.

Khadija has been blind for 10 years and told me being able to vote today was a hugely empowering experience. She added “up to this point, voting has been nothing but a struggle”.

Khadija was able to cast her vote using a device called the McGonagle Reader. It has an audio player and a special plastic template meaning people with sight loss can find the voting boxes on the ballot paper and vote independently.

However, devices like this are not always available and often have to be requested in advance. A report by The Royal National Institute of Blind People, external found most blind or partially-sighted people have to be assisted when voting, meaning they could not do so confidentially.

Tom Finn
BBC News

Being handed a ballot paper in an important election can feel nerve-racking, especially if you are voting for the first time.

What if your cross creeps outside the box? Or you put a tick by mistake?

The answer is you don’t need to worry.

If it’s clear you made a deliberate mark in a box indicating your preferred candidate on the ballot your vote will be counted.

Likewise, no need to panic if you put a cross in the wrong box.

You can hand the ballot paper back and ask for another one.

There’s more reassuring advice in our Guide for First-Time Voters

We asked for photos of your pets at the polling stations, and boy have you delivered!

While we wait for the polls to close (at 22:00 BST tonight), we are restricted in what we can report on in the election. So it's become a tradition for our furry (and scaly) friends to do some heavy lifting on polling day.

Here are some of our favourites we've seen so far - and if you want to see more then we've herded some of the best pics together and put them all in one place here.

Image source, Joe Berry

Image source, Zach Bridgeland

Image source, Anna Gardiner

Here's five-month-old Nell arriving at her local polling station with mum, Anna.

Hopefully she won't try and grab the pencil out of mum's hand as she casts her vote.

And if you were wondering if you could take your kids with you to vote, you can.

Not all polling stations have been set up in the local church, school or community centre - as we previously reported, some are voting under their neighbour's stairs.

And then there are others being treated to a bit of a show - like those voting at the Wimbledon College of the University of the Arts London.

These flamboyant costumes provided a bit of extra excitement for those who used this particular polling station on Thursday.

It’s not just dogs at polling stations today. We’ve also had a snake, a horse, and now… a cat.

This is Tigger, a domestic shorthair ginger moggie, aged 9, who accompanied his owner Jo Evans in High Peak, Derbyshire.

Image source, Jo Evans