Super-rich people take security very seriously and will spend a lot of money to feel secure. Sometimes, that entails spending more money than a home on specially-trained super dogs. These four-legged bodyguards can go from cuddly and adorable to a bad guy’s worst nightmare with only one command. This exclusive protection might cost up to $230,000.
According to November Holley, president of Harrison K-9, an organization located in Aiken, South Carolina that imports and distributes “executive security dogs,” as she calls them, “our clientele vary from CEOs, to professional sports, and plenty of ladies who are home alone quite a bit.”
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The top security canines are imported to the United States by Harrison K-9 following around two years of daily training in Germany. Each dog is carefully chosen by the organization based on obedience, scent-tracking prowess, ability to react to on-command attack cues, and other factors. The animals then undergo a further six to twelve months of demanding ground training in Aiken.
The business teaches the canines to speak three languages so they can react quickly to orders given in hand signals, English and German. Before a dog can be put in a client’s house, a certain level of communicative proficiency must be attained, which might take years to master.
According to Holley, the cost of a properly trained security dog ranges from $30,000 to $80,000, with the typical sale price being approximately $50,000. However, if the dog is an award winner or has a pedigreed background, the price might increase significantly.
According to Holley, “the most expensive dog we ever sold was for $230,000, and she was named Julia.” You may compare a show in Europe to the Miss Universe competition. The top 50 canines in the world ranked [Julia].”
2018 saw 50 executive protection dogs sold by Harrison K-9. Thirty canines dogs have already been sold this year, according to Holley, and seven more are expected to be sold before the end of the month.
According to Holley, the firm is also seen an increase in demand outside of the United States. Six of her canines have already been adopted by Mexican families this year alone. “It was an investment in protection and safety, and peace of mind to me is priceless,” says Sandy Bentley, a devoted customer of Harrison K-9. She has spent almost $300,000 on six dogs over the years.
Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriend and former Playboy cover model claim there were times when she felt uneasy about being a model in California: “I was weirded out. I was recognized by creepy men, and I didn’t want anything bad to happen. I purchased a transportable security system rather than an alarm system.
A security dog named Valdemar, that is all-black, is her current bodyguard and dearest companion. Bentley said that even on the private planes she and her fiance fly on, “you literally can put them in any environment” because of their breeding and temperament. You needn’t fear since they are more perceptive than any dog.
Because a dog’s devotion is unshakable, Holley says, some clients choose security dogs over human bodyguards. The bodyguard still needs to consider how to protect himself, while the dog is just concerned with you.
New customers frequently decide to get a protection dog after learning that a family member has been a victim of crime. One such example is Michelle Wilson Gall. She was the victim of a carjacking in Los Angeles when she was 16; as a result of the terrifying incident, her father got her a guard dog.
Since then, Gall has gone on to buy two security dogs for herself from Harrison K-9, and she attributes the lifesaving abilities of her newest puppy, named Scarlet, to her narrow escape from being attacked in an elevator.
Scarlet detected the pheromone of my dread. She grabbed him right away as [the attacker] continued to go closer to me while trembling. According to Gall, Scarlet has been trained to bite and hold onto the attacker’s arm until she issues the command.
When we reached our floor and fled, I told her to “let go,” says Gall. “The cops later nabbed him.” Having spent $70,000 on guard dogs, Gall claims she has plans to increase the number of four-legged security guards on her squad.
Although they are pricey, according to Gall, “safety is something you just can’t put a price on.” While Gall and Bentley claim to be long-time loyal clients of Harrison K-9, at least one disgruntled customer—a couple from New Mexico—has taken legal action against the company in December 2016. In accordance with court records, the couple paid $50,000 for a security dog named Leo from Harrison K-9.
They claim that Leo had an unknown medical condition that prohibited him from adequately protecting the family. Both sides declined to comment on the specifics of the later settlement, but Harrison Prather, the creator of Harrison K-9, claimed that after two and a half years of an expensive legal battle, he finally decided to settle because it made financial sense.
Gall responds, “It’s genuine protection – they are fuzzy robots that do anything you ask with a heart and a grin, ” when pressed further on the value she finds in her dogs. There will be hell on the other side of my door. I know that much. I have a good night’s sleep.
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