ATHLETES' HOUNDS ARE PUP FOR CHAMPS' BEST FRIENDS

TODAY is international Dog Day, the time to honour man's best friend. It takes place on August 26 every year, a day to honour dogs, appreciate their role in our lives and encourage dog ownership, especially by adopting them through rescues and shelters.

- 

To mark it, DEREK FOLEY pays tribute to Olive, the sports dog of the year since she stole the show from champion cyclist Ben Healy at the Tour de France last month. And he looks at the other famous pooches of top footballers, tennis stars and golfers.

OLIVE, the one-year-old sausage dog, is the most famous sports dog of 2025.

The beautiful miniature Daschund belongs to Irish Tour de France cyclist Ben Healy who wore the 2025 Yellow Jersey - a first for an Irishman since Stephen Roche in 1978 - for two days.

There beside Healy, brought from his Andorra base by girlfriend Martha after the winning of Stage Six and much photographed after Healy went into yellow on Stage 11, was Olive.

1. NOVAK DJOKOVIC - POODLES PIERRE & TESLA

Novak Djokovic is the owner of two poodles, Tesla and Pierre, both of whom have their own passports and travel frequently with the tennis star.

A player also more than just interested in his own pets and who, along with wife Jelena, revealed he was going to invest €17million in a facility for stray/abandoned dogs.

Serbian Djokovic has revealed Tesla is named for Serbia's national hero, inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla.

2. NEYMAR - GOLDEN RETRIEVERS POKER, TRUCO & FLUSH

The 128-times capped Brazil striker's spells with Barcelona and PSG had him pictured with his Golden Retreivers Poker, Truco, and Flush.

Poker is the eldest, adopted in 2014, and named "because poker is one of the things I love to do the most".

Truco is a trick-taking card game, while a Flush is also a poker term.

All three were seen playing football with Neymar in his garden when he flew home to Brazil during Covid.

3. HARRY KANE - LABRADORS BRADY & WILSON

Kane and his wife of six years Katie Goodland own two Labrador retrievers, Brady and Wilson.