Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage warns fans not to buy huskies

Peter Dinklage is asking Game of Thrones fans to stop buying huskies after the number of them being abandoned started to rise.

Charities think it's because Northern Inuit dogs, which look like huskies, appear in the TV series.

Peter, who plays Tyrion Lannister, wants people to take on "deserving homeless dogs" instead.

"If you're going to bring a dog into your family, make sure that you're prepared," he says.

"Shelters are also reporting that many of these huskies are being abandoned - as often happens when dogs are bought on impulse, without understanding their needs."

The charity Blue Cross also says people don't realise how much work is involved in looking after a husky.

"Huskies can pull sleds across hundreds of miles of icy terrain. They are not happy with simply slobbing in front of the telly."

Dogs called "Direwolves" feature on the TV show

Before Game of Thrones started in 2011, the number of huskies being abandoned was around 10 per year, but Blue Cross said last year 81 of the dogs were abandoned.

The wolf-like dogs are originally from Siberia and have distinctive blue or multi-coloured eyes.

They can be up to 60cm long, weigh up to 27kg and take a lot of exercise and care.

Blue Cross says the dogs have wolf-like features and like chasing small animals and howling.

This isn't the first time a TV show has caused people to go out and buy a particular pet.

101 Dalmatians and Legally Blonde were both reported to have caused increases in sales of Dalmatians and Chihuahuas respectively.

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