1 The Tour de France’s hounds If you are a dog and fancy a stroll, doing so as the Tour races in your village means only trouble, hence Marcus Burghardt tumbling in stage nine and Sandy Casar’s embarrassing welt after a canine ran across Frederick Willems in stage 18. Casar went on to win the stage. The dogs drug-tested positive, by osmosis.

2 Triggs Man’s best friend is his dog, apparently, hence Triggs, whom Roy Keane once said he trusted more than his teammates. And when Keane arrived at his Cheshire home after fleeing Ireland’s 2002 World Cup campaign, the Labrador retriever, understandably, needed a walk. And a walk she got, followed by the world’s press. And Triggs was there in the spring, being walked again when her owner was texted with news that Sunderland were promoted. She may be in the dugout this season.

3 Chic Brodie’s terrier Brentford goalkeeper Chic Brodie had his career ended by a terrier that ran on to the pitch at Colchester in 1970 and attacked him, shattering his kneecap. “The dog might have been small,” noted Brodie later, “but it just happened to be solid.”

4 Pickles In 1966, England lost the World Cup before they won it, when the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from a pretournament exhibition at Westminster Hall. Enter noble mongrel Pickles, who sniffed out a parcel in his garden. “I thought it was a bomb,” said owner David Corbett. Six months later, Pickles was dead – he was strangled by his own lead while chasing a cat.

5 Torquay United’s Bryn In 1987, Torquay were losing 2-1 to Crewe and about to drop to the Conference. With seven minutes left, police dog Bryn decided Torquay’s Jim McNichol was going to attack his handler and left the centre-half needing 17 stitches in his thigh. During four minutes of added time Paul Dobson equalised and kept Torquay up.

6 Peter Laviolette’s Stanley The Carolina Hurricanes ice hockey team’s coach found a dog in the road in May 2006 on the day of the Eastern Conference finals against Buffalo. He foolishly said that if his team won, he would keep the dog, which he called Stanley. He also said Stanley would only keep that name if the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. They did.

7 Snoop Dogg Not a noted sportsman himself, the rap icon inspires bad-boy swimmer Michael Phelps, who uses such tracks as A Bitch I Knew, Fresh Pair Of Panties and A Nigga Witta Gun as training stimulation. A friendship is unlikely. “I went to a Snoop Dogg concert and got backstage,” said Phelps. “But I didn’t meet Snoop. He doesn’t ‘meet’ people.”

8 Mick The Miller The Irish greyhound raced for just three years (1929-31), but is the most famous fake-rabbit-chaser of all time, winning five classics and 19 races in a row. After he retired, he starred in the film Wild Boy. He died, aged 13, in 1939, was stuffed, and can be seen at the Natural History Museum in Tring.

9 Jimmy Greaves’s Chilean stray While England played Brazil in Vina Del Mar during the 1962 World Cup, a black stray charged on to the pitch. Animal lover Greaves caught it, only for nature to take its course as he handed it over. “I smelt so bad,” Greaves said, “but after that the Brazilian defenders stayed clear of me.”

10 Michael Vick’s pitbulls The Atlanta Falcons quarterback and all-round nice guy (last seen in court after a woman claimed he’d knowingly given her herpes) bought the Bad Newz kennels in 2001. A Virginia court heard he used them for dog fights between pups he’d reared and killed the ones who fought badly. Vick, who was jeered outside court, has pleaded not guilty.

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