Take care of your dog

You’d be forgiven for thinking we were living in Lanzarote or Benidorm, given the recent recordbreaking weather sweeping across Renfrewshire.

However, while we enjoy the heatwave, there has been some very sad stories of dogs becoming seriously ill or sadly dying after being left in cars.

Under 20 mins in a hot car can be fatal to a dog.

Within minutes, as the temperature rises in the car, dogs will develop a loss of muscle control and ultimately their kidneys will cease to function, the brain will become damaged and their heart will stop.

Many people don’t know that dogs take a lot longer than humans to cool down and even on cooler or very wet days, cars can become very hot, very quickly. You just need to touch the dashboard or seat of a car to see how hot it can get.

Parking in the shade or leaving the window down will not make it any safer.

If you do see a dog in distress in a parked car call the police or the SSPCA.