From Herefordshire to Hollwood: the hounds starring in new Batman movie (From Hereford Times)

Herefordshire dog trainers and their German Shepherd dogs star in the new Batman movie

2:30pm Thursday 26th July 2012 in Local News By Lauren Rogers

German shepherd dogs from Herefordshire are starring in the brand new Batman film.

GSDs Kai and Tilly appear alongside their owners Travis and Ashley Foster in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises .

Father-and-son dog trainers Travis and Ashley, who work together at Vislor Dog Training Centre in Bush Bank, Hereford, play the roles of mercenary thugs in the movie, terrorising hostages being held by the villain Bane, played by Tom Hardy.

Filming took place last June when the pair and their highly trained dogs were called to a secret set at the University of London and spent a day working with director Christopher Nolan opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Morgan Freeman.

“We were contacted out of the blue for this as we were for all our other film jobs,” said Ashley.

“We don't actually make any effort to advertise or actively attain film work but our reputation in dog sport is such that when producers want a protection style dog for a role, they find us.”

Four-year-old Kai and Travis will soon represent Great Britain at the IPO World Championships – a competitive sport best described as a triathlon for protection and police dogs.

As well as enjoying a flourishing movie career together, Kai and Tilly became the proud parents of 10 puppies a month before filming.