Real stories · A cool spot for a hot dog

The cooling mat that finally settled my poor dog on hot days

I'm 67, and my little dog Winnie is the love of my life — but she does suffer in the heat. On the warm days this summer she'd pad from room to room, panting, trying to find a cool bit of floor to lie on, and she just couldn't settle. It's a worry when they're miserable and you don't know how to help.

I'd tried leaving the tiles bare and a damp towel down, but the towel went warm in minutes and Winnie wanted nothing to do with it. What I needed was something that actually stayed cool for her to lie on, that I could pop wherever she likes to be.

Then I found the Nell cooling mat from a British label called York Boutique — a cooling comfort pet mat, in the summer sale. I chose the lilac.

It's been a little godsend. The surface stays lovely and cool to the touch without any water, freezer or fuss — you just lay it down and it does the rest — and there's a soft padded bolster edge for her to rest her chin on. It's light as anything, so I move it from the sitting room to by the back door to her basket, wherever she fancies. She flopped straight onto it the first afternoon and let out the biggest sigh, and she's used it every warm day since.

She flopped straight onto it and let out the biggest sigh. She's used it every warm day since.

A proper cooling mat, I assumed, would be forty pounds. But York Boutique sells direct, so it was from £19.95 in the summer sale. A small price for a happy, settled dog.

It wipes clean in a moment, which is a blessing, and it comes in several sizes for little ones like Winnie right up to big dogs, in a choice of colours.

If your dog struggles in the heat like mine did, do treat yourself — and them — to a look. The Nell is rated 4.8 out of 5 by more than 300 owners, it's from £19.95 in the summer sale instead of £40 — half price — and the popular sizes always seem to go first.