As a kid growing up in Michigan, making it to the NBA was not the only thing Devin Booker yearned for. “My whole life I always wanted a dog, [but] my brother was allergic,” he tells Vogue. “Then, once I got to the NBA, my brother lived with me for some time. The second he moved out, I brought Haven in.”
That was six and a half years ago, and the six-foot-six Phoenix Suns point guard and 140-pound cane corso have been inseparable ever since. They’re avid hikers (Haven is partial to the Grand Canyon), enjoy lounging at home (sometimes by the pool or basketball court, but mostly in the well-appointed living room), and, as they did for their Dogue photo shoot, spend much of the NBA offseason basking on the beaches of Lake Michigan. Indeed, Haven enjoys the perks of having a wildly successful pro-athlete owner, but perhaps his biggest flexes are these: In April 2024, Booker’s signature shoe, the Nike Book 1, was released in a new colorway—a black base reminiscent of Haven’s gleaming coat, with a brown marbled swoosh inspired by his eyes. The Nike Book 1 Haven sold out immediately. A month later, when Booker became a playable Call of Duty character, Haven was rendered for the video game too, along with a “Sick ‘Em Haven” finishing move.
Photographed by Jake Kaz
That Haven isn’t in the frame when Booker hops on Zoom with Vogue is surprising, because “he’s never further than six or seven feet from me,” the exceedingly proud dog father says. (Booker just happens to be on the golf course; they’ll be reunited soon enough.)
Though their bond couldn’t have been predicted, a dog with Haven’s unwavering loyalty—and the size and aptitude for outdoor adventures—is what Booker was hoping to find when he began his search for a four-legged companion. His canine preference did not fall on deaf ears: “Bro, are you still looking for a dog?” Booker’s former teammate Jamal Crawford texted one day. “He had retired, but he remembered me talking about wanting to get a dog,” Booker says. Crawford, who owns Haven’s cousin, urged Booker to look into cane corsos. “Everything I read up on them I loved,” says Booker, “and yeah, the rest is history.”
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