Toothy Tuna melts hearts in Leeds

TUNA, the abandoned crossbreed dog whose unusual facial looks made him an internet celebrity, has been in Yorkshire today to 'sign' copies of his new book.

By The Newsroom

Published 8th Feb 2016, 11:38 BST

Updated 10th Feb 2016, 13:19 BST

Instagram star Tuna the dog in Leeds. PIC: Simon Hulme

The chihuahua Dachshund was abandoned by his original owner near San Diego, California, and adopted at a farmer’s market in Los Angeles by animal lover Courtney Dasher, who created an Instagram page for him.

Ms Dasher has used Tuna’s online celebrity status to raise money for animal rescue groups. A book of photographs of Tuna was released last year, called Tuna Melts My Heart: The Underdog With The Overbite.

Tuna’s celebrity status now rivals that of Lassie, with 1.3 million Instagram fans - among them Reese Witherspoon, Georgia May Jagger and Ariana Grande.

Today Tuna and Ms Dasher are at Waterstone’s bookshop in Leeds to coincide with the UK release of the book.