A Harefield hound has a unique claim to fame after he was made into an emoji character!

Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has launched the first ever dog emoji keyboard to represent 23 of the most popular breeds in the UK.

Each character on the keyboard has been based on a real life dog searching for its 'pawfect' match - including Bailey the Bichon Frise from Dogs Trust Harefield.

Bailey is a very sweet boy who can be a little shy. He loves other dogs, and would prefer to live in a home with another existing dog to learn from to help him build his confidence.

Bailey needs a quieter home where he can settle in at his own pace with patience and understanding from his owners. He will make a perfect addition to the right home.

Richard Moore, manager of Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre Harefield, said: “We are delighted that Bailey is the inspiration behind the Bichon Frise Dogs Trust emoji.

“He has always been a superstar in our eyes and we really hope this campaign helps him to find his perfect family.”

The arrival of the Dogs Trust emoji aims to celebrate canine diversity in all its 'barking' glory after Apple updated its existing emoji keyboard to provide a more racially diverse range of characters.

Through the Dogs Trust emoji keyboard, the charity hopes to harness the power of the world’s fastest growing language to highlight the sheer variety of breeds that they see at their rehoming centres as well as allowing dog owners and dog lovers from across the globe to share and enjoy their favourite breeds in messages to friends and family.

Adrian Burder, CEO of Dogs Trust, said: "As the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, we have a responsibility to ensure all dogs are fairly treated, and represented, in both the digital and real world.

"While we fully support the recent updates to diversify the emoji keyboard, with nine million canines in family homes across the country, we also feel dogs deserve that same representation. We see so many wonderfully different dogs every day, we wanted to share this with the public!

"We’re delighted to launch Dogs Trust emoji which will allow us to celebrate the wonderful variety of our UK dog population in a fun and creative way.”

If you would like to re-home any of the real life emojis at Dogs Trust Harefield, please contact them on 01895 453930 or visit them at Dogs Trust Harefield, Highway Farm, Harvil Road, Uxbridge, UB9 6JW.

Dogs Trust emoji is available to download for free on Apple iOS and Google Android.