Pugs and poodles: The top ‘designer dog’ breeds being left for dead across the UK
- RSPCA warns of worrying rise in number of ‘designer dogs’ being rescued in the UK
- Bichon frise-crossbreeds have suffered 11-fold increase in rescues since 2012
- Demand for fashionable pups linked to social media and popular culture dog trends
The RSPCA reported soaring rates of Chihuahua-cross rescues, hitting 21 in 2015. Photo credit: Pixabay
Dog rescue organisations are being left to pick up the pieces as the number of unwanted fashionable dogs rises across the UK.
Animal welfare charity, the RSPCA revealed it has been seeing a surge in the number of ‘designer dogs’ coming into the care of its national centres in the last few years.
In a statement released by the charity, it associated these rising popularity of trends dogs to fads on social media sites like Instagram, as well as publicity given to certain breeds by celebrity owners.
It also linked the rise in rescues of certain breeds to other growing popular culture trends, such as the Twilight films and hugely popular TV series Game of Thrones.
To see a breed-by-breed breakdown of the figures, check out our timeline below.
