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LONDON -- When people start dying their pets bright yellow in order to make them look like imaginary creatures, you know a craze has probably gone too far.

Since the launch of Pokémon Go last month, the game has taken off in a way no one could have predicted.

SEE ALSO:Driver crashes into school while playing 'Pokémon Go'

There are people using bots to complete the game as quickly as possible, Olympians sharing their frustrations over the lack of Pokémon in Brazil, and now, well, now someone has actually gone and dyed their dog to make it look like a Pikachu.

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Tweet may have been deleted

The dog-painting video was shared on Facebook and Twitter recently by Elihudi Urassa from Brighton, UK. It's received around 3.5 million views on Facebook and around 9,000 shares between the two platforms at the time of writing.

It's also generated a lot of intense debate over whether or not dying a pet constitutes abuse.

Many people thought it was cruel.

Credit: facebook/elihudi justin urassaCredit: facebook/elihudi justin urassa

Others, meanwhile, pointed to pet friendly dyes.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

And some people just really didn't hold back.

Credit: facebook/elihudi justin urassa

Mashablereached out to UK charity Dogs Trust for comment, and they sent the following statement:

"Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, is concerned by the trend for colour-dying dogs and urges anyone considering this to be certain that the dye used is non-toxic and not medicated. We have seen an increase in the number of dogs dumped once they fall out of fashion and urge new dog owners to remember that a dog is for life.  The charity understands that dog owners like to pamper their pooches; however we strongly believe that a pet is not a fashion accessory and should not be paraded as such so as not to fuel this perception."

Meanwhile, the debate on social media rages on.

TopicsPokemon