BAY AREA — Mlise Avedian readily admits she didn’t do her homework before adopting a husky puppy.

The Monterey County resident had fallen in love with the breed after seeing the 2002 Disney movie “Snow Dogs” but never expected that her fluff ball would be chewing on brass door knobs until he dented them trying to get in the house, and creating holes in drywall the size of his head.

“Sometimes you say, ‘Why’d you do it?’” Avedian said with a rueful chuckle, although she still owns Striker, now 13.

Now there is another reason that the founder of Brandy Sled Dog Rescue and other rescue organizations is experiencing an uptick in calls from husky and malamute owners who want to surrender their challenging pets: “Game of Thrones,” the popular HBO fantasy series featuring direwolves, fearsome canines played by large Siberian husky-mixes.

Those calls, coupled with shelters that are running out of space, are making it more difficult for the Pacific Grove nonprofit to accept them all.

A few years after the show debuted in 2011, international news media outlets began reporting a link between audiences’ fascination with the program’s feral-looking animals and the growing numbers of northern-breed dogs that were being abandoned. With the show now in its seventh season and more popular than ever, Bay Area animal welfare organizations also are taking in more huskies and similar breeds than they used to.

San Jose Animal Care Center saw 285 huskies alone come through its doors in 2016-17, which is 50 percent more than those it kenneled two years earlier, according to Director of Animal Care and Services Jon Cicirelli.

During the first four months of this year, Northern California Sled Dog Rescue — or NorSled — pulled as many dogs from Contra Costa County Animal Services’ two shelters as it typically takes in during an entire year.

The year after ‘Game of Thrones’ came out, the number of huskies, Malamutes and mixes that East Bay SPCA received jumped from 13 to 29, although officials there believe the increase is more likely because the nonprofit took in additional dogs overall.

And whereas the Bay Area Siberian Husky Club found homes for 53 dogs in 2016, it already has adopted out 39 this year and has five more in foster homes awaiting permanent placement, said Randee McQueen, the group’s treasurer and rescue coordinator.

As evidence of the link between these statistics and “Game of Thrones,” she notes that about one-quarter of those dogs have names of characters, themes and objects on the show such as “Snow” and “Ice.”

NorSled’s president, Angelique Miller, agrees.

“A lot of the dogs that show up in the shelters are named ‘Stark’ or ‘Sansa’ … very popular Game of Thrones names,” the Clayton resident said.

Well-acquainted with northern breeds — she has two huskies and a couple of Malamute-mixes of her own — Miller says the animals are surrendered or abandoned because too many owners thought it would be cool to own one, but didn’t bother to find out what they were getting themselves into.

In addition to needing plenty of exercise, huskies are pack animals and as such, want to be with other dogs or people, Miller said. Leave them alone and they can become destructive, chewing and ripping objects or finding a way to escape.

“They can jump a 6-foot fence with ease,” she said, adding that the dogs also will take advantage of a loose board or dig under a barrier.

The breed also can open lever-style door handles, said Oakley husky owner John Pavon, “and then they’re gone.”

These dogs aren’t retrievers that will play fetch and stay on a front lawn off-leash, added McQueen, who advises new owners to take note of where their dog is before opening the front door.

“A northern breed is watching where they can go and they go!” she said.

What’s more, huskies have a strong prey drive, Miller said, noting that many end up in shelters because they killed someone’s cat, chickens or attacked a pet goat.

For the same reason, NorSled doesn’t place its dogs in homes with small animals of any kind, she said.

That’s the biggest downside to owning a husky, said Pavon, a NorSled volunteer.

“A teacup Chihuahua will look like a snack to them,” he said.

Rescue groups are quick to point out that “Game of Thrones” is just the latest example of how the world of entertainment can influence people’s choice of pets.

McQueen calls it the “Dalmatian effect,” a reference to the craze for spotted dogs that resulted when the movie “101 Dalmatians” first came out.

Similarly, she said the public’s love affair with sledding dogs has periodically reignited over the years as “Iron Will” appeared on the big screen followed by “Snow Dogs” and “Eight Below.”

Once these movies disappeared from the box office, however, so did the widespread fascination with the breed, McQueen said.

“Game of Thrones,” on the other hand, will remain on TV for the next few weeks and there are plans for one final season.

As a consequence, Miller predicts that dog owners will continue taking huskies home — and getting rid of them when the once-charming puppies become not-so-adorable adults.

“We have to find a lot more foster homes, I guess,” she said.