Northern Ireland is the worst place in the United Kingdom to be a pet dog, according to a survey which shows an extraordinary difference in the way the regions treat man's best friend.
It has an appalling record of abandoning pet dogs, with 13,000 stray dogs being caught last year - one stray for every 150 people.
Still worse for the dogs, half of those captured were subsequently put down rather than returned to their owners or found new homes.
This compares with the southwest of England where strays have the best chance of survival. Only one in 100 strays met with an untimely death. The 5,000 dogs captured there represents one in 700 of the human population of the region.
The National Canine Defence League, which compiled the figures with the help of pollsters MORI and local authorities, says a "staggering" total of 20,250 healthy dogs are put to sleep each year out of a total of 135,000 strays picked up by local authorities.
"This is an appalling record for a nation of dog-lovers," the league comments.
Stray dogs cost the United Kingdom £21 million last year. Dogs have to be kept for seven days before they can be destroyed and most are kept for much longer in the hope their owners will claim them.
The cost has almost doubled over the previous year as local authorities have invested in new micro-chip technology, neutering schemes and more dog wardens to try and crack the problem.
Responsible dog-ownership involves dogs having a microchip inserted under the skin of the neck so the name and address of the owner can be read by a scanner, according to the league. By law all dogs are supposed to carry a identity tag on their collars.
The organisation rates regions and their care for their dogs by the number of strays captured per head of population. London therefore comes out best with one stray for every 1,200 people. One in 30 of these strays is destroyed.
The southern region of Britain is second best with one stray for every 800 people - but only one in 50 are destroyed.
The south-west has more strays - one for every 700 people - but from the dog's point of view the best record with only one in 100 not being reunited with their owners or "rehomed".
In general, Scotland, Wales and the north of England treat their dogs less well than the rest of the country.
The league, which believes neutering pets is the best long-term method of reducing the stray problem, set up a pilot scheme last year to provide a cut-price neutering service in the North East. In the course of the year, it cut the number of stray dogs in the region by 5 per cent.
The chief executive of the league, Ms Clarissa Baldwin, said: "It is heartbreaking that so many healthy dogs are needlessly destroyed. When a dog becomes a member of your family, it is a permanent commitment. If a dog is abandoned or left to stray, there is a very high chance that its life will be cut short through no fault of its own."