Sales of Siberian husky puppies have rocketed enormously off the enduring popularity of ‘Game of Thrones’, to the point that one of its stars, Peter Dinklage, has urged fans to think twice before adopting or buying the puppies simply because they resemble the ‘direwolves’ from the fantasy series.

48 year old Dinklage – who plays Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series – banded together with animal rights organisation PETA to address a trend of the huskies being bought as puppies because of their similarity to direwolves, only to abandon the dogs once the novelty wears off.

“Not only does this hurt all the deserving homeless dogs waiting for a chance at a good home in shelters, but 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 actor said in a statement released on Wednesday (August 16th) by PETA.

Peter DinklagePeter Dinklage is a noted animal rights activist

The direwolves are connected to the House of Stark, the main family of protagonists in ‘Game of Thrones’. In the series, each Stark child raises a direwolf pup when a litter of them is found and taken in by the family.

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Therefore, fans have been buying husky dogs in record numbers in recent years. However, according to PETA, two rescue groups in California reported recently they had seen the number of abandoned dogs from this breed double. Similarly in Britain, a pet-rescue organisation said three years ago that huskies and other wolf-resembling breeds have seen 700% rise in levels of abandonment.

This is primarily because Siberian huskies have very specific needs, most notably their high energy levels and intelligence meaning they require a great deal of attention, or they become destructive.

“Please, please, if you're going to bring a dog into your family, make sure that you're prepared for such a tremendous responsibility and remember to always, ALWAYS, adopt from a shelter,” Dinklage finished his statement.

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