CORONATION Street star Charlie DeMelo has hit back after being accused of dog cruelty.
The actor, who played Imran Habeeb on the ITV soap between 2017 and 2022, is the proud owner of a Golden Retriever called Sarah.
Sarah is a brood bitch, a pooch which is used for breeding - and in particular, she breeds guide dogs.
Charlie, 33, took to Instagram to share the news that she had recently welcomed nine puppies into the world.
"Sarah and her Nuggets. ❤️ Day 1," the soap star captioned the post.
Despite making it clear that the dogs were not for sale and would be trained into guide dogs, some were left unimpressed.
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Charlie was forced to hit back at people who think it's cruel to breed her twice in two years.
Sarah last had puppies back in 2021.
One person wrote in the comments section: "was it not that long ago she had puppies."
Another replied with: "Meant to be 2 year gap not impressed at all."
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Charlie simply said: "Feel free to be unimpressed, but you're also very much incorrect."
According to the official website, a brood bitch usually has one litter per year.
Meanwhile others rushed to the comments section to share the love.
One said: "Thank you for all of your hard work from a very grateful Guide Dog Owner , beautiful pups to an even more beautiful Mum."
A second added: "Oh my amazing job your doing be proud of yourself xxx."
In August 2021 Charlie shared some pictures from Sarah's last litter.
He wrote: "Year 1-S Day 0/1 'Babies having Babies'
"Well done my Sarah ❤
"(Photo Description. Sarah the Golden Retriever "smiling" during her labour and then progressively looking more and more confused and shocked as each puppy is born.
"She has no idea what to make of them! There are six black and 3 golden. The final photo is them laying together in a box like little furry piano keys)."
Sarah is the daughter of Charlie's other dog Toni.
The TV star loves to update fans with his dog's shenanigans on social media.
Toni first appeared on his Instagram in September 2017 and has gone on to give birth to a number of litters.
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Sarah joined the family in September 2020.
Charlie left Coronation Street last year to pursue other things.