ACES GO NUTS FOR MUTTS PREMIER BREED HOUNDS PROTECT PLAYERS
PREMIER League players are splashing out on posh guard dogs.
They are choosing frightening breeds to keep burglars out, including the cane corso, or Italian mastiff, used in Italy to hunt wild boar.
Stars such as West Ham’s Andy Carroll and Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins have splashed out on the fearsome hounds, descendants of dogs used by the Romans in warfare.
Other players, including Manchester United’s Phil Jones, 24, and West Ham midfielder Mark Noble, 29, have opted for German and Belgian shepherd dogs.
The stars bought them from the specialist supplier ChaperoneK9 after a spate of break-ins at top footballers’ homes.
Striker Carroll, 27, and his TOWIE star wife Billi Mucklow, 28, named their fearsome grey cane corso Bane after the murderous Batman villain.
A photo of the dog on Leicestershirebased ChaperoneK9’s Instagram page reads “Teeth out from the beast”, along with hashtags including “#aggression” and “#defence.”
Jones’ German shepherd is called Buddy. His teeth-baring snap is captioned Crime Editor JIMMY McCLOSKEY “Best you don’t break into this boy’s home.” Crystal Palace defender Tomkins, 27, also posed with his cane corso on the Instagram page along with Noble, who bought a Belgian shepherd dog called Striker.
A video on the site shows Noble’s mutt attacking a trainer, latching on to his arm and hanging in the air by its jaws.
The trend for buying guard dogs comes weeks after burglars targeted Wayne Rooney’s £6million home in Prestbury, Cheshire. Neither Rooney, 30, who was at a testimonial match at Old Trafford, nor his family were in the house at the time.
ChaperoneK9’ s website offers plenty of detail on why sports stars should buy from them. It says: “We are renowned for supplying trained dogs of the very highest quality that offer both security and love to their new families in an often unpredictable variety.”
It adds that the dogs are “bred from quality stock with a known family history” and “raised in a family home, ensuring sociability and confidence in all situations”, bridging “the gap between security dogs and family pets”.