If you're tempted by the wild, blue eyed beauty of huskies, you should probably do a bit of homework on their high-maintenance needs before getting one, because they're one of the most abandoned dogs in New Zealand.
Husky Rescue NZ are warning the public of the demands of owning the arctic sled-dogs in aotearoa after an influx of eight dogs were given up for adoption over the last few weeks.
Founder of the Christchurch Husky Rescue centre Michelle Attwood, said the dogs "are hard work" and challenging to own in a suburban environment.
"They'll jump a six foot fence, they're not good with cats or stock or small dogs, they need five kilometres running a day, and they're not good off a lead," Ms Attwood said.
"So the advice I would give people is please research the breed, please get in contact with us, and talk to the people like ourselves who have been doing it eight and a half years, not the Instagram photo that's been put up for one second."
Ms Attwood also said "backyard" husky breeders should be restricting their output in New Zealand.
"Definitely, we haven't had a problem with NZ Kennel Club registered dogs, or Dogs NZ registered dogs, our problem has always been backyard breeding dogs," she said
"And people think of backyard breeding as puppy milling, it's not. It's 'my husky's cute, your husky's cute, let's make more huskies and a lot of money'."
The Christchurch Husky Rescue centre has had a particularly challenging last few weeks.
"We've had a huge influx of dogs in just the last 10 weeks," Ms Attwood said.
"In fact, of the 10 we've got for adoption in total at the moment, eight of those have come in in the last couple of weeks. Five of those haven't been de-sexed, so we've de-sexed five dogs in the lat two days."
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