DOG owners are being urged to make sure their pooches are safe from the heat as summer approaches.

The plea has been issued by the Scottish SPCA after last year’s heatwave led to a surge in reports to the charity’s animal helpline.

Scotland’s animal welfare charity received 1,025 reports of dogs in hot cars in 2018 – an increase of 80 per cent on the previous year.

And, during the recent warm weather over the Easter weekend, more than 40 calls were received from concerned members of the public about dogs in hot cars.

It has teamed up with the RSPCA and other animal welfare organisations to issue a UK-wide plea to the public to avoid leaving dogs in vehicles on hot days.

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “If you imagine being trapped in an oven with a fur coat on, it will give you some sense of how a dog can feel inside a hot car.”

Anyone who would like expert advice on animal welfare can go online at www.scottishspca.org.