Look, we all love a direwolf, but sadly Game Of Thrones has been blamed for the rise of abandoned ‘wolf lookalike’ puppies.
A 420% rise, in fact, according to a dog welfare charity.
Those of you who are looking to adopt your own Ghost, perhaps you should check out a shelter after one dog charity blamed the HBO show for the influx of canines in need of forever homes.
After we fell in love with the Stark family’s litter of direwolves back in season one, Dogs Trust has said they found an increase in abandoned ‘wolf lookalikes’ and hoped the end of the show in a couple months will mean they’ll stop seeing more land on their doorstep.
While we’re not keen on the end of the show by any stretch of the imagination, less dogs landing in shelters is always a good thing, right?
Since the show first hit our screens in 2011 the dog welfare charity saw a lot more Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies and Akitas in their halls than usual.
In 2010 the Dogs Trust cared for 79 dogs from the aforementioned breeds however in 2018 they saw that number rise to 411.
It’s not just a ‘big dog’ phenomenon, either, as it added the number of dogs from the Rottweiler, German Shepherd and Weimaraner family dropped by 22%.
‘Since the start of Game Of Thrones we have seen a huge increase in the popularity of wolf look-a-like dogs, but we urge owners to remember a dog is for life, not just the duration of a TV series,’ Operations Director, Adam Clowes said in a statement.
‘They are beautiful, large, powerful dogs and they make loyal companions but as they were originally bred for more physical past-times, such as pulling sledges in cold climates and hunting, they need a lot of physical and mental stimulation every day and not all owners are able to provide that.’
Urging punters to ‘do their research’ before making like Jon Snow and adopting a ‘wolf’, he added: ‘We love looking after these dogs and owners have done the right thing bringing them to us so we can find them their forever homes.
‘However, with the end of the series, we really hope we see fewer of them coming to us in the future.’
Speaking of, it seems only two of the famous Stark direwolves are still kicking as we charge into series eight, so that’s not mildly heart-breaking.
Let’s hear it for Ghost and Nymeria.
Game Of Thrones series eight returns 14 April.
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