Two military guard dogs used to protect Prince William have been put down, days after the Duke of Cambridge completed his duty as an Appache helicopter search and rescue pilot at a Royal Air Force (RAF) base.
The dogs were put down following Prince William's final shift as a search and rescue pilot at RAF Valley in Anglesey last week, 'The Sun' reported today.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it always tried to rehome dogs and the timing was a coincidence.
Belgian shepherd Brus was at the end of his working life and Blade, a German shepherd, had "behavioural issues".
The patrol dogs were said to have been part of a unit providing extra security at RAF Valley and were not providing sole protection for the duke.
The duke started his training at RAF Valley in January 2009 and graduated as a search-and-rescue pilot in September 2010.
He announced he was to leave the military to focus on royal duties and charity work after carrying out his final operational shift on September 10 this year.
An MoD spokesman said: "It is true two dogs have been put down, a couple of days after. It was entirely coincidental."
He added that Blade, who also "had a record of veterinary issues", could not be reassigned to other duties.
The spokesman said: "The department's policy is to rehome all military working dogs at the end of their service life wherever practicable. Regrettably, however, there are occasions when they have to be put down. This action is only ever taken as a last resort.
"Unfortunately in this case the dogs were unsuitable for rehoming or alternative duties and so sadly, for the animals' welfare, they had to be put down.
