Dog owners are taking photos of their pets without collars in tribute to a five-month-old Border Terrier who tragically died after his collar got caught on a door handle.
Owner Adrian James shared the sad news on the Border Terriers Owners group on Facebook, posting: "RIP my little Rocco I'm totally heart broken you had to die in such a horrible way and only 5 months old, GUTTED"
Other members asked Adrian what had happened to the young dog and he replied: "My poor boy caught his collar on a kitchen door handle! He must have been jumping up to get on the work top and fell down catching the collar my poor Mum found him hanging on the door."
Since then, the post has been flooded with well wishes and condolences to Adrian and tributes to little Rocco.
As well as this, several members of the group snapped pics of their own dogs, collar-less, with the caption #CollarsOffForRocco - the hashtag soon picked up and there's currently hundreds of photos on Instagram and Twitter made in tribute.
Adrian's sister, Sally Thomas, is now urging dog owners to consider the potential danger of dogs wearing collars at home. She told the Metro: "Does your dog need its collar on whilst at home? Chances are it does not, it is an unseen danger and one most of us have never thought about.
"Please seriously consider this so you do not have to go through what my brother and mum did."
Although dogs legally must wear a collar and ID tag at all times in a public place, when at home - or in a secure garden or yard - it's fine to remove it.
Since Rocco's sad death, a JustGiving page has been set up to raise funds for Border Terrier Welfare. It's smashed its original £250 target, with £5,677 raised so far.
Adrian posted a second message on the Border Terriers Owners page to say he's overwhelmed by all the support he's received.
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Adding: "Rocco was my first dog and my eyes are sore from crying that he had to go so soon. Thank you all so much I'm still lost for words."
Source: Metro
Topics: Instagram, Dog, UK News, Pets