Keep your pets safe this summer - Cavan SPCA

With Met Éireann predicting “warmer and more humid” conditions for the weekend, Cavan Society for the Prevention Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) have issued the following guidelines to keep animals safe in hot weather.

They advise people to ensure animals have sufficient shelter from the sun and plenty of water.

Dogs can easily dehydrate in the heat, therefore it is recommended to walk your dog early in the morning or late in the evening with a drink on hand.

Dogs can suffer from scorched paws and heat stroke in hot conditions.

Keeping long haired pets well-groomed during the summer months will reduce the risk of heat stroke.

Similarly pets can get heatstroke if they are left unattended in the car. Cavan SPCA stress that leaving the window open is not sufficient to prevent heat stroke/ suffocation which can lead to death.

Treasurer of the Cavan SPCA Concepta Lennon said: “People don’t realise when they bring their dogs out that the footpath is so hot it burns the pads off the dogs' paws.

“It’s the same every year.

“You’d see the dog with its tongue nearly hitting the ground,” she stated.

She stressed the importance of bringing water for the dog.

Concepta advised people to only walk their dog before midday and after 6pm on hot days.

She said that “people are very good” to their pets in Cavan, however they do not realise the dangers associated with warm conditions.