It’s a dog’s life for famous Thrones pair

Westeros ‘wolves’ a fan favourite

TWO wolf dogs who starred in Game Of Thrones are helping drive a surge in the rare breed’s popularity.

William Mulhall, owner of Odin and Thor, the northern Inuits who played direwolves in the HBO drama, is facing a growing number of enquiries about pups and has even turned down offers from celebrity buyers. The Co Down man said his dogs, who have their own social media accounts and are insured for £1million each, have met about 400,000 people on the back of their roles as Summer and Grey Wind.

Much of the worldwide hit show is filmed around Northern Ireland. Mr Mulhall said: “Northern Inuits are the closest thing to wolf we can get without a licence. Their parents were brought in from England, making these the first to be born in Ireland – that’s how rare they are.

“Usually when you see a wolf on TV or in a film it will be this breed of dog because they are so wolf-like in their appearance and so highly intelligent.”

Weeks after buying the pups in 2010, Mr Mulhall got a call from a breeder saying a TV show was interested in using them.

He said: “I said, ‘cool, what’s the show about?’ and he said, ‘Swords and shields and stuff ’.

“So I then brought the dogs up to the

breeder’s house and the trainers from Game Of Thrones were there and they picked these two.”

Mr Mulhall has appeared as an extra in the series, while his father played a Dothraki slave master. His two brothers have also been involved, as has one of their boats.

Mr Mulhall said: “A lot of people come here just because of Game Of Thrones.

“We have met people from all over the place - the Middle East, the Far East, all of the Americas and all of Europe.”