Heel, Achilles! The abandoned Italian hunting dog who became a Royal Navy mascot after being rescued by British couple
With his shaggy brown hair, deep brown eyes and gentle nature, it is little surprise that Achilles has become an adored family pet since his adoption last year.
By ROY TEMPLETON
Published: 22:00 GMT, 10 January 2026 | Updated: 22:00 GMT, 10 January 2026
With his shaggy brown hair, deep brown eyes and gentle nature, it is little surprise that Achilles has become an adored family pet since his adoption last year.
But the Italian hunting dog is also an unlikely star - winning admiration among members of the British Royal Navy and becoming the toast of Italian media, featuring on television and in Vanity Fair.
His unexpected fame stems from the heartwarming adoption which saw him brought from a dog rescue shelter in Tuscany to live with a retired Gloucestershire couple, Rachael and David Hyde, last year.
Having been put to work for years before being abandoned, nine-year-old Achilles - a pedigree spinone, which are traditionally used for tracking and retrieving game - was distressed and undernourished when he arrived at the shelter. He was also wary of humans.
But after UK-based charity Spinone Overseas For Adoption (Sofa) placed him with the Hydes, he was given a new lease of life.
When the Hydes read about a submarine which was being commissioned called HMS Achilles, they contacted Navy commanders about their pet - and were astonished to receive a letter back making Achilles an unofficial mascot of the vessel, complete with bandana, Navy merchandise and a water bowl.
And when Italian media heard the news, Achilles also became a poster boy for the breed.
'It was a lovely letter and Achilles wears his bandana with pride,' said Mrs Hyde, from Hucclecote, near Gloucester. 'When we got him he was quite skinny, as he had spent a year and a half in a Tuscan kennel after he was abandoned in a pretty bad way.
With his shaggy brown hair, deep brown eyes and gentle nature, it is little surprise that Achilles has become an adored family pet since his adoption last year
Achilles, an Italian hunting dog, is an unlikely star - winning admiration among members of the British Royal Navy and becoming the toast of Italian media, featuring on television and in Vanity Fair
'But we knew we could give him a warm, comfortable safe home for the rest of his life and we had lost our previous spinone a few months earlier. He's now put on weight and looking great.'
Thousands of hunting dogs, whose tails are typically docked, are abandoned every year in Italy when they are seen to become 'unworkable'.
But Sofa warns that a new Bill banning dogs with docked tails coming to the UK could prevent adoptions of pets such as Achilles in future.
It is urging people to contact their MPs to bring about an exemption to the Bill for registered-charity rescues.