Dog owners have been warned against taking their pooches out for walks as temperatures are set to hit a scorching 29C.
A 'High Temperature' weather advisory is in place until Friday with the national forecaster warning that it will continue to be very warm for the week.
Dogs don't have sweat glands like humans and can't regulate their body temperature leaving them susceptible to overheating.
This can result in a heat stroke where a dog’s body becomes so overheated, it cannot cool down using its normal methods.
A post on the Enjoying St Anne's Park Facebook group reads: "For the attention of dog owners, from one of our members: 'Hi there, I'm wondering if possible could you please share a post about owners walking their dogs in this heat?
"I am a vet and this morning in the park I witnessed a man with a bat hitting balls for a collie for almost 30 mins, the amount of people jogging and even just walking the dogs was scary.
"I can't emphasize how quickly a dog can overheat and unfortunately it is very hard to get the dog back to health when this happens.
"Please, please leave your dog's at home in the shade! It is way too hot to have them out'."
Charity Dogs Trust has also warned pet owners to only walk their dogs when temperatures are cool enough or to hold off until normal temperatures resume.
They recommended going on walks early in the morning or late in the evening, to avoid the fatal effects of heatstroke.
