Humans might regret the return to damp summer form over the weekend, but our pets may well be celebrating. A good summer can be bad news for domestic animals, as can other factors in the holiday season.
"We get quite a number of calls relating to problems with animals over the summer months," says Colin Dowling, chief inspector with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"The most common thing is when people going on holidays either haven't made sufficient effort to arrange for a friend or neighbour to look after an animal, or the friend or neighbour has - for one reason or another - let them down."
Another scorching problem - and a potentially lethal one - is that of dogs being left in cars, even for short periods, during the summer. "Dogs in cars just isn't on in this weather," Dowling says, "and it doesn't have to be really hot outside. Even on a mild summer day, a car can get very hot inside very quickly."
A dog's fur coat is designed to retain heat and they cannot sweat when they overheat. As the temperature inside the car rises, the dog's body temperature also rises - 20 minutes of this can be fatal.
Pet owners who go on holiday can, Mr Dowling says, be strikingly casual about leaving an animal in someone else's care. The neighbour who happily agrees to water your pot plants may not be quite so chuffed about walking a dog or changing the water in the goldfish tank. If they don't have pets themselves, chances are they may not notice if your pet is off-colour.
This applies even to large, apparently self-sufficient animals.
"All animals need to be checked and monitored regularly. Horses, for instance, are sometimes left in fields with an automated water supply and grass to eat. A horse can stand on something and injure its foot - in fact, any animal can get itself into a bit of trouble quite easily.
"Even if you do arrange with a neighbour, they may become ill themselves or be unable to do the job - so you should always have a reserve, just in case."
A proper supply of clean water is top of the pet priority list. "You'd be surprised how some people don't seem to understand this," Dowling adds. "We recently had a case where somebody thought just blocking a drain so that the water would overflow would ensure an adequate supply for their rabbits."
If water is regularly filled into a bowl, it should be properly secured so a dog can't knock it over.
Shelter is the next most important requirement. In Ireland this usually means somewhere for an animal to get out of the rain and cold, but also somewhere to escape from the sun during the hottest part of the day.
"Snakes and lizards are quite popular as pets in Ireland at the moment and they're actually among the easiest to make arrangements for. They're usually kept in a controlled environment and some of them only need to eat once every two weeks or so."
Boarding kennels or professional pet-sitters are other alternatives, but these can be expensive. With kennels costing up to €20 a day, the advent of the pet passport system, which allows pets to cross EU borders, may tempt you just to pack the pooch as well and bring it with you.
Holidays in Ireland aren't without their pitfalls. "If you're bringing a dog with you, you really have to research it," Dowling warns. "Some county councils want to ban dogs completely from beaches at all times . . . but dog owners have to respect the rules and clean up after their dogs."
