Andy Murray ‘names dog after fiancee Kim Sears’

Murray, who will marry Miss Sears next month, sponsors a sniffer dog to help tackle poaching and the illegal wildlife trade in Nepal and it was named Murray in his honour last year. He has now been asked to name the dog’s companion, and has chosen the name Sears after his fiancee. Murray and Sears now live and work together in Chitwan National Park with their handlers. Andy Murray, who was raised in Dunblane near Stirling, is a WWF global ambassador and has been supporting WWF’s fight against poaching and illegal wildlife trade since November 2014. He said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to name the companion of my namesake dog. “Dogs love companionship and I hope this partnership will aid them as they work to tackle poaching in Nepal. “March is an important month in the fight against poaching with the Botswana government hosting an international conference on illegal wildlife trade so it’s great to be involved in WWF’s initiative during this pivotal moment.” The two dogs have been through training together in India, where they learned to sniff out evidence of poaching and track routes used by poachers. Heather Sohl, chief species adviser at WWF-UK, said: “Andy naming the companion of his sponsored sniffer dog after his fiancee is testament to Andy’s interest in this issue. “We’re delighted that we can work with Andy to tackle wildlife crime ahead of the Kasane conference on illegal wildlife trade on 25th March 2015.” FOLLOW US Twitter | Facebook | Google+ Subscribe to our DAILY NEWSLETTER (requires registration) SCOTSMAN TABLET AND MOBILE APPS iPhone | iPad | Android | Kindle