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Dogs That Became Famous Sports Stars

  • 19/02/2020
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The world of sports has had more cute dogs in it then you might think and some of them changed the course of history. If we look back at a few of the most famous pooches in sporting history, we will see a few familiar names. Let’s see if we can surprise you.

Pickles – Found the Jules Rimet Trophy

This black and white collie was arguably the first dog to achieve global fame in sport. He did it in March 1966, when the Jules Rimet Trophy went missing in England. This was the trophy that was about to be contested in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

A mysterious thief beat tight security to grab the shiny troph, soccer most precious prize, during a Stamps exhibition in London and then asked for a £15,000 ransom.

For seven days, no one knew where the cup was, and the man arrested for demanding the ransom claimed to only be a middleman. However, four-year-old Pickles found it under a car, wrapped in newspaper pages, while he was out for a walk.

Pickles got a special invite to the celebration banquet after the home nation won the cup. He was also was awarded a medal from the National Canine Defence League and a year of free dog food. He was named Dog of the Year and even went on to star in films and TV shows. A plaque can be seen in the street where he found the trophy.

Buddy – The Star of Air Bud

Air Bud is a light-hearted 1997 movie about a Golden Retriever who gets away from a nasty owner and turns into a basketball star. This led to numerous sequels and spin-offs featuring a range of other sports and even the hero’s pups. The original film was so popular that it earned $27.8 million from a modest £3 million budget.

The real Buddy was living stray in California when he was taken in by Kevin DiCicco. The pooch soon showed that he was talented at basketball as well as several other sports. Sports fans can use BestAppBet to find out how to bet on all of Buddy’s favourite sports, like football, hockey and baseball.

He actually appeared in a few TV shows before Air Bud cemented his fame. His first moment of stardom came on America’s Funniest Home Videos, followed by the Late Show with David Letterman.

Atom and Humber – Alexis Sanchez’s Pets

Footballer Sanchez has two dogs who achieved stardom in his native Chile, before taking over the world on Instagram. They have been featured in TV ads and on giant advertising billboards.

Their Instagram account reached over 180,000 followers and fans even spotted the Golden Retrievers recently with model Anna Modler, leading to suggestions that she is dating the player.

Sanchez revealed that Atom is named after a character in a movie called Real Steel that he loved as a youngster. As for Humber, he is named after the star’s brother, Humberto, as they apparently have a lot in common.   

Señor Hulk – Lionel Messi’s Giant Dog

Barcelona star Messi has a huge French Mastiff that looks after his home in the city. The Argentine has been known to upload videos in which he plays football with the gentle giant in his garden.

Fans were amazed at the way that this dog grew so huge in such a short period of time. His first photo with Señor Hulk in 2017 showed a cute little pup. A year later, and he had turned into an absolutely massive pooch.

Sadly for the dog, he was left chasing shadows when the two of them played with a ball in a video that Messi uploaded last year.

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