THOUSANDS of people have signed an online petition to change the laws on dogs travelling on ferries after a Calne dog owner suffered heartbreak when her Staffordshire bull terrier died on the way to Dunkirk.

More than 35,700 people have signed the petition calling for a change in ferry company DFDS rules after 46-year-old Lisa Hall and her partner Craig discovered their dog Oliver had died in the car during the two-hour journey at the start of September.

Miss Hall was told at the port in Dover that she would not be able to take Oliver out of the car during the trip and that she would have to leave water and have the windows open despite having concerns about the stifling temperature.

The petition calls for a change in the way pets are transported during the journey and asks for DFDS to find alternative arrangements to keep "dogs safe and happy".

A spokesman for DFDS said: "We sincerely regret the loss of Ms Hall’s pet dog, Oliver and the distress that this has clearly caused Ms Hall and her family.

"Journeys on our Dover routes are short crossings lasting up to two hours. We believe that our current procedures for pet travel on these services are suitable and correct.

"We operate our policy, where pets remain in their owners’ vehicles during the journey, in the interests of all of our passengers and their pets, ensuring dogs travel in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of their owners’ vehicles and avoiding exposing them to the busy passenger areas on board our ships.

"All customers are advised of this arrangement at the time of booking and provided with information and advice when they check in at our ports.

"We recommend that car windows are left open to allow air to circulate through the vehicle and passengers can visit their pet during the journey by asking a crew member to accompany them to the car.

"We do not have evidence to suggest that Ms Hall requested this during her journey.

"On our longer routes, we provide a kennelling option for pets in view of the longer, 15-hour overnight crossing time.

"We have transported more than 35,000 dogs safely on our routes so far this year. Following a thorough investigation, we have no indication that our procedures are inadequate and, as a post-mortem was not carried out at the time, there is no evidence of the cause of Oliver’s death."

For more information about the petition visit www.change.org/p/dogs-on-ferries.