History Main / PetFadStarter

* For the Jack Russell Terrier segment of the Creator/AnimalPlanet series ''Dogs 101'', a dog trainer gave a report that Moose, the Jack Russel Terrier who played Eddie the dog on ''Series/{{Frasier}}, was so well-trained that he made the breed especially popular. Many people thought all Jack Russells were as intelligent as Moose/Eddie and would be just as manageable right from the point of sale. The broadcast of the Creator/{{PBS}} series Series/{{Wishbone}} during its run probably gave the breed's popularity a boost, too.

* One of the more famous examples is ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''. The film made the breed more popular, and as a result, demand jumped up. Like many "fad" animals, several were abandoned a few months later, aided by the fact that Dalmatians are very high-maintenance dogs[[labelnote:*]]For one thing, the breed descended from Croation ''warhounds'' and were bred specifically to be guard dogs for coaches and carriages. Without proper dedication in terms of time and training, they ''will'' become aggressive, and consistently score among the top 10 (and sometimes even top 5) of aggressive dog breeds. And that's not getting into the ''30%'' that are prone to partial or total hearing problems.[[/labelnote]] that many owners simply aren't prepared to deal with. And the ones that ''are'' will readily tell you that a Dalmatian is ''not'' a first-timer's breed.

* One of the more famous examples is ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''. The film made the breed more popular, and as a result, demand jumped up. Like many "fad" animals, several were abandoned a few months later, aided by the fact that Dalmatians are very high-maintenance dogs that many owners aren't prepared to deal with.
** In addition, Dalmatians--descended from Croatian ''warhounds'' and bred specifically as coach and carriage ''guard dogs''--consistently score in the top 10 (and often top 5) of the most aggressive dog breeds. High maintenance plus an aggressive breed equals a lot of problems. They are described as not an appropriate first dog for anyone.
** Even worse, Dalmatians are notorious for having hearing problems--up to ''30 percent'' are either hard of hearing or completely deaf.

* ''[[Film/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians1996 101 Dalmatians]]'' (1996) sparked a new rise in the sales of Dalmatian puppies 35 years after the animated film. The Dalmatian looks funny but is an extremely high-maintenance dog, and any child who thinks that this would be a good dog to own without the sort of dedication children are well known for being incapable of should be set straight rather than obliged in their request.
** The release of ''Film/OneHundredAndTwoDalmatians'', with a blue-eyed white puppy named Oddball, triggered a run on blue-eyed white Dalmatian puppies from parents who didn't realize that the blue-eyes gene is strongly associated with deafness. (You thought a hearing Dalmatian was high maintenance? Try a deaf one...) Blue-eyed white Dalmatians (and indeed, Dalmatians in general) were bred at such a rate that puppy mills would inbreed lines with extreme prejudice if they could get away with it. They usually did, and caused enormous damage to the breed in general, with congenital defects ranging anywhere from extra dewclaws to clubbed limbs to clinical insanity.

* Similarly, [=YouTubers=] featuring even relatively common pets (whether as the main focus of their channel or as a side feature) will have disclaimers or videos specifically detailing the amount of effort needed to keep one in an attempt to avert this. A notable example is the rabbit-based channel [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUSfEor0VihlL4fMt-VlLgQ Lennon the Bunny]]; in addition to general rabbit tutorials and cute videos of Lennon, the channel has videos such as Lorelei (the uploader) showing things Lennon has destroyed, her picking up abandoned rabbits from a shelter so they could receive medical treatment, and her looking at Craiglist ads of bunnies being given away ([[BerserkButton not without a visceral amount of anger]]). The point of such uploads is to illustrate [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped the amount of effort needed to make sure a rabbit is healthy, and the impact careless owners would have on an animal]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'':
** ''Balto'' thankfully didn't do this for wolf-dogs (who are very high maintenance and more like wolves than dogs, not to forget illegal in many regions), however it did help boost interest in the Siberian Husky.
** It ''might'' have had something of a pseudo-effect of this trope: there was already a practice of selling Husky mixes as wolf-dogs (without even a drop of wolf blood in them) to owners wanting an exotic pet, and ''Balto'''s success increased viewer interest in the hybrids.

* Several social media influencers, particularly on Instagram and Website/YouTube, have been [[https://youtu.be/k-rn4WMzmK0 accused of]] popularizing brachycephalic (flat-headed) dog breeds, namely Pugs, French Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers. Due to their smushed-in faces, these dogs have ''very'' short life expectancies (a typical French Bulldog only lives for about '''six years''' on average, whereas most breeds live for about 10-13 years) and a huge menagerie of health and breathing problems, [[FromBadToWorse which are only further propagated by the aggressive backyard/puppy mill breeding that's done to meet consumer demand]]. These issues often lead to massive vet bills, causing many owners to abandon their expensive pedigree pooches. Because of this, rescues dedicated to brachycephalic dogs have cropped up.

* ''Film/MarleyAndMe'' made the already popular Labrador Retriever even more popular despite the fact how high-maintenance Marley was. Luckily, as mentioned before, Lab Retrievers are usually docile and low maintenance (particularly if they have a pack- meaning if you have two dogs and a large enough backyard, you're set), and Marley was the exception and not the norm.

* ''Film/MarleyAndMe'' made the already popular Labrador Retriever even more popular despite the fact how high-maintenance Marley was.

* The popularity of the 1977 anime ''Rascal the Raccoon'' was single-handedly responsible for the introduction of feral raccoons in Japan. Up to 1500 raccoons were imported as pets, but now the descendants of abandoned or escaped raccoons live wild in 42 of Japan's 47 prefectures.

* For the Jack Russell Terrier segment of the [[[Creator/AnimalPlanet]] series ''Dogs 101'', a dog trainer gave a report that Moose, the Jack Russel Terrier who played Eddie the dog on ''Series/{{Frasier}}, was so well-trained that he made the breed especially popular. Many people thought all Jack Russells were as intelligent as Moose/Eddie and would be just as manageable right from the point of sale. The broadcast of the Creator/{{PBS}} series Series/{{Wishbone}} during its run probably gave the breed's popularity a boost, too.

* This has happened ''with people''. It was trendy for dames at the French royal court to have a black dwarf servant following them around after Louis XIV's wife was gifted a dwarf slave by the King of Dahomey, named Nabo. The fad came to an abrupt end when the Queen gave birth to a [[ChocolateBaby black daughter]] and Nabo abruptly [[{{Unperson}} disappeared from the historical record]].

** In addition, Dalmatians consistently score in the top 10 (and often top 5) of the most aggressive dog breeds. High maintenance plus an aggressive breed equals a lot of problems. They are described as not an appropriate first dog for anyone.

* As with Dalmatians, ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'' led to a sharp spike in demand for the Cocker Spaniel breed. The poor breeding done to meet the demand compounded the health problems the breed already had.

** Even worse, Dalmations are notorious for having hearing problems--up to ''30 percent'' are either hard of hearing or completely deaf.

* ''[[Film/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians1996 101 Dalmatians]]'' (1996) sparked a rise in the sales of Dalmatian puppies. The Dalmatian looks funny but is an extremely high-maintenance dog, and any child who thinks that this would be a good dog to own without the sort of dedication children are well known for being incapable of should be set straight rather than obliged in their request.
* The release of ''Film/OneHundredAndTwoDalmatians'', with a blue-eyed white puppy named Oddball, triggered a run on blue-eyed white Dalmatian puppies from parents who didn't realize that the blue-eyes gene is strongly associated with deafness. (You thought a hearing Dalmatian was high maintenance? Try a deaf one...) Blue-eyed white Dalmatians (and indeed, Dalmatians in general) were bred at such a rate that puppy mills would inbreed lines with extreme prejudice if they could get away with it. They usually did, and caused enormous damage to the breed in general, with congenital defects ranging anywhere from extra dewclaws to clubbed limbs to clinical insanity.

* The ''Film/AirBud'' franchise boosted the popularity of Golden Retriever, which was already popular.

This ''should'' go without saying, but [[DoNotTryThisAtHome buying an animal on impulse is a bad idea]], and can lead to undue stress on both pet and owner. When a movie featuring a certain animal comes out, advocacy groups [[DefiedTrope often put out messages to discourage people from suddenly buying it]], and for good reason: when the hype dies down, people--especially children--often grow bored of the pet, especially when it turned out to be more work than they expected. This has led to a lot of animals being killed, abandoned, released into the wild regardless of the effect it may have on the local ecosystem, or worst yet, living a short, miserable life due to inadequate care. It doesn't help that high demand can lead to breeders churning out the animals as fast as possible and passing off creatures prone to various health problems, like inbred dogs or wild-caught reptiles, onto unwitting buyers. On top of all that, oftentimes, media will skate over the messy parts of pet ownership, like a given species or breed being aggressive, high-maintenance, difficult to train, bad with kids, or unsuitable as a pet altogether--resulting in clueless first-time owners picking up a pet that they really should not be trying to take care of, even if it's one in good condition and they're willing to tough it out.

This ''should'' go without saying, but [[DoNotTryThisAtHome buying an animal on impulse is a bad idea]], and can lead to undue stress on both pet and owner. When a movie featuring a certain animal comes out, advocacy groups [[DefiedTrope often put out messages to discourage people from suddenly buying it]], and for good reason: when the hype dies down, people--especially children--often grow bored of the pet, especially when it turned out to be more work than they expected. This has led to a lot of animals being killed, abandoned, released into the wild regardless of the effect it may have on the local ecosystem, or worst yet, living a short, miserable life due to inadequate care. It doesn't help that high demand can lead to breeders churning out the animals as fast as possible and passing off creatures prone to various health problems, like inbred dogs or wild-caught reptiles, onto unwitting buyers.

* The fad for pet red-eared slider turtles that began when ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' was a big deal on TV. A lot of imported turtles were abandoned after the show fell out of favour and the luckiest of them were dumped in rivers and reservoirs. Various areas of Britain report that water features suddenly developed resident turtle populations after the end of the show's run on TV, possibly when owners realised they weren't going to morph into superheroes and that the real thing is rather prosaic and boring - and possibly long-lived. Sefton Park in Liverpool, for instance, now has an unwanted turtle population which defies attempts to cull it and is a pest, preying on native fish and wildfowl. Fishermen across the UK hate the imported alien population of snapping turtles, for their part in depleting fish stocks. Attempts are periodically made to cull them.

* ''WesternAnimation/SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat'' briefly popularized Siamese cats (and to a lesser extent, Pekingese dogs) as pets.

* When a live-action Disney comedy about a pug called ''Patrick'' came out in the UK, Disney [[https://www.bsava.com/News/ArticleID/2462/Release-of-Disney%E2%80%99s-film-Patrick collaborated with veterinary groups]] on a publicity campaign in order to avert this and avoid backlash from advocates. They pointed out that many pugs suffer from severe health problems due to their extreme craniofacial shapes, and agreed to avoid some elements in the film marketing that were considered to pose a risk of getting children to excited about pugs.

* Several social media influencers, particularly on Instagram and Website/YouTube, have been [[https://youtu.be/k-rn4WMzmK0 accused of]] popularizing brachycephalic (flat-headed) dog breeds, namely Pugs, French Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers. Due to their smushed-in faces, these dogs have ''very'' short life expectancies (a typical French Bulldog only lives for about '''six years''' on average, whereas most breeds live for about 10-13 years) and a huge menagerie of health and breathing problems, [[FromBadToWorse which are only propagated by the aggressive backyard/puppy mill breeding that's done to meet consumer demand]]. These issues often lead to massive vet bills, causing many owners to abandon their expensive pedigree pooches. Because of this, rescues dedicated to brachycephalic dogs have cropped up.

* A relatively obscure dog breed, the Weimaraner, has gained popularity through William Wegman's photos and videos featuring this breed.

* For the Jack Russell Terrier segment of the [[[Creator/AnimalPlanet]] series ''Dogs 101'', a dog trainer gave a report that because Eddie, the dog on ''Series/{{Frasier}}, was so well-trained, he made the breed especially popular because many people thought all Jack Russells were as intelligent as Eddie and would be just as manageable right from the point of sale. The broadcast of the Creator/{{PBS}} series Series/{{Wishbone}} during its run probably gave the breed's popularity a boost, too.

* The mascot to the dog food company Cesar is a West Highland White Terrier. Advertisements for the brand helped boost the Westie's popularity.
* "Hush Puppies" is an American brand of shoes whose mascot is a Basset Hound. This has been cited as helping popularize the breed as a pet dog, instead of just a hunting dog.
* In the UK, the toilet tissue brand "Andrex" has been advertised by a Labrador Retriever puppy for decades - it is the UK's most popular dog breed. Doesn't hurt that Retrievers are a relatively docile and beginner-friendly dog breed.

This ''should'' go without saying, but [[DoNotTryThisAtHome buying an animal on impulse is a bad idea]], and can lead to undue stress on both pet and owner. When a movie featuring a certain animal comes out, advocacy groups [[DefiedTrope often put out messages to discourage people from suddenly buying it]], and for good reason: when the hype dies down, people--especially children--often grow bored of the pet, especially when it turned out to be more work than they expected. This has led to a lot of animals being killed, abandoned, released into the wild regardless of the effect it may have on the local ecosystem, or worst yet, living a short miserable life due to inadequate care. It doesn't help that high demand can lead to breeders churning out the animals as fast as possible and passing off things like inbred dogs or wild-caught reptiles, both prone to various health problems, onto unwitting buyers.

* The popularity of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' led to a big demand for snowy owls. So much so, that [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/harry-potter/6082344/Sanctuary-opens-for-owls-dumped-by-Harry-Potter-fans.html an owl sanctuary had to be opened to accommodate all the owls that were bought as pets but then abandoned]]. This is not surprising, since owning a "pet" bird of prey is essentially letting a small carnivorous dinosaur into your house. On top of that, they are neither affectionate nor particularly intelligent, stretching the meaning of "pet".

* Several social media influencers, particularly on Instagram and Website/YouTube, have been [[https://youtu.be/k-rn4WMzmK0 accused of]] popularizing brachycephalic (flat-headed) dog breeds, namely Pugs, French Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers. Due to their smushed-in faces, these dogs have ''very'' short life expentacies (a typical French Bulldog only lives for about '''six years''' on average, whereas most breeds live for about 10-13 years) and a huge menagerie of health and breathing problems, [[FromBadToWorse which are only propagated by the aggressive backyard/puppy mill breeding that's done to meet consumer demand]]. These issues often lead to massive vet bills, causing many owners to abandon their expensive pedigree pooches. Because of this, rescues dedicated to brachycephalic dogs have cropped up.

* Similarly, [=YouTubers=] with even relatively common pets (whether as the direct focus of their channel or tangentially) will have disclaimers or videos specifically detailing the amount of effort needed to keep one in an attempt to avert this. A notable example of this is the rabbit-based channel [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUSfEor0VihlL4fMt-VlLgQ Lennon the Bunny]]; in addition to general rabbit tutorials and cute videos of Lennon, the channel has videos such as Lorelei (the uploader) showing things Lennon has destroyed, her picking up abandoned rabbits from a shelter so they could receive medical treatment, and her looking at Craiglist ads of bunnies being given away ([[BerserkButton not without a visceral amount of anger]]). The point of such uploads is to illustrate [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped the amount of effort needed to make sure a rabbit is healthy, and the impact careless owners would have on an animal]].

* For the ''Dogs 101'' segment on the Jack Russell Terrier, a dog trainer gave a report that because Eddie, the dog on ''Series/{{Frasier}}, was so well-trained, he made the breed especially popular because many people thought all Jack Russells were as intelligent as Eddie and would be just as manageable right from the point of sale. The broadcast of the Creator/{{PBS}} series Series/{{Wishbone}} during its run probably gave the breed's popularity a boost, too.

* ''Film/IAmLegend'' likely helped the popularity of German Shepherds.

* Most people who saw ''Film/TurnerAndHooch'' probably couldn't have named Hooch's breed to save their lives. Demand for the French Mastiff didn't explode by any means, but that movie and other appearances in media have definitely invoked this trope, since it's a massive, high-maintenance dog that, as the vet herself said, "Not many people [have room for]." Or time for, or money for. And that's with the movie actually playing it fairly straight in terms of how high-maintenance Hooch was.
* ''Film/JurassicPark'' increased the demand for frilled lizards as pets, due to them looking like [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology the portrayal of the dilophosaurus]] in the film.

* The popularity of ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', which is about a black panther-themed superhero, caused an increase in black cat adoptions. Happily this means previously unwanted cats, who were shunned for being considered unlucky, can now go to loving homes.