Luxury brand Chanel has come under fire after pictures of caged dogs left in one of its London stores were posted on social media.
Made In Chelsea star Tabitha Willett filmed the footage on Friday night, claiming they were left without water in the brightly-lit store.
She said: “Does anyone know what these sweet doggies were doing in cages in @ChanelOfficial Sloane Street last night?
“Chanel why are there two dogs in tiny cages in your shop at 11pm?”
Willett later phoned Chanel and shared their response on her Instagram account.
She said: “I phoned Chanel up who said the dogs were there for security purposes which I don’t understand as they are locked in crates and the crates are far too small for their size.
“Also no water is visible at all and one of the dogs wagged friendly (sic) when my friend who videoed this walked up to the window so not very scary?
“I was assured that the animals were only kept in crates for a few hours at a time (still too long I think under these fluorescent lights too) and there was a human man there as well.”
She added that the RSPCA had been notified.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Chanel said: “Due to two recent serious incidents in the Sloane Street boutique, Chanel has decided to reinforce the security measures by seeking the services of a dog handler.
“We understand the concern of those who care about animal welfare and we share it.
“We want to assure them that these two dogs, which are specially trained for this purpose, are released from their crates on a regular-basis to stretch and exercise and there is a regular supply of food and water throughout the duration of their time in the boutique.”