If you were invited by a friend to go listen to someone named Gordon Sumner sing a few tunes, you might try to gracefully bow out. Later, you would kick yourself for declining the offer because Gordon Sumner is this guy:

We know him as Sting, the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band, the Police, and later, as a solo artist. Since 1992, he has been married to Trudie Styler whom he met while she was at the Old Vic Theatre and dating actor Peter O’Toole. Six kids later, they’re still going strong, but our interest in Sting is actually in his wife’s passion inspired by a 16th-century farmhouse in Wiltshire, UK.

In a not-to-be-missed spread on Trudie and her dogs published by our favorite UK magazine, Country Life back in 2018, Trudie shares how it all got started during a house-hunting trip: “Sting just said to me, ‘I’d like to buy a wolfhound. I think you’d enjoy having your own dog and this house sort of looks like it should be for wolfhounds.’

As of 2018, there were eleven Dukesarum Irish Wolfhounds, Dukesarum being her kennel name for the dogs she has committed to breeding for health and longevity. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the health initiatives in the breed, and her hounds are heart tested under the IWHG regional testing scheme by cardiologist, Dr Angela Bodey.

Back in 2003, however, there was also Sting’s personal dog, “Roux,” a Flat-coated Retriever, some Labradors, a couple of Anatolian Shepherds, and of course, the Wolfhounds.

You can see a few of the Wolfhounds on Styler’s Instagram page

Black and white image of Sting with the Wolfhounds found on Pinterest and happily credited upon receipt of information