#20. Odell Beckham Jr.
We’ve seen Odell break several NFL rookie records: he became the first player to record more than 75 receptions, 1,100 yards, and ten touchdowns in a rookie season, and he also broke the rookie record for the most average receiving yards per game. We’ve even seen this flashy wide receiver pretend to urinate like a dog in one of his rivals’ end zone. Could he have been following the example of his dearest hounds?
Odell is the proud owner of three gigantic hounds and brings them with him everywhere, even on private jets. Not only is the NFL player a world-class athlete but also a world-class dog lover and a philanthropist. Recently, one of the receiver’s dogs, Eris, a two-year-old canary mastiff, had 10 puppies. The NFL star decided to put the puppies up for adoption at the Green Leaf Pet Resort. Part of the adoption proceeds will benefit PAWS. What are you waiting for?
#19. Tom Brady
Quarterback Tom Brady has been called by fans as the GOAT — Greatest Of All Time. Why wouldn’t they? The NFL player has been on teams that have won six Super Bowls, the most of any football player ever. Whether we agree or disagree, that’s a different story. But Brady doesn’t own any goats. Actually, he has adopted three amazing dogs and he is not afraid to admit that Lua, a pit bull mix, is his favorite.
However, Brady wasn’t always fond of dogs. In his life, the star has been bitten twice by different dogs. The first time happened when he was a kid, and he learned the hard way not to bother a dog when he is eating. The second time he was bitten at the Gillette Stadium by a military k9. This time, the quarterback ended up with a nice scar. "(…) those weren't, like, Labradors. Those were tough dogs. I raised my arms up over my head, and right when I raised my arm up, the dog jumped up and I guess was going for my neck," he commented.
#18. Klay Thompson
This professional basketball player is credited as being one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. We shouldn’t confuse this amazing player with the Labrador Retriever, named after the shooting guard. Just like the NBA player, this dog isn’t ordinary at all as he has been trained to be a guide dog for the blind. The NBA player made time to meet the service dog when he was a puppy. Incredible, right?
Klay Thompson, the player, also has a heart for dogs and owns an English bulldog named Rocco. "Rocco is one of my best friends and I truly understand the relationship dogs and people can have and am honored Guide Dogs for the Blind chose to name their latest puppy after me," said Warriors Guard Klay Thompson.
#17. Lindsey Vonn
Another athlete with a big love for dogs! Lindsey Vonn is a former World Cup alpine ski racer who was part of the US Ski Team. She also happens to be one of six women to have earned World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing, namely, downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super-combined. Quite an achievement, right?
The ski expert struggled with depression for a while but her wonderful canine companions helped her through that rough patch. Currently, Lindsey owns three dogs, Lucy, Leo, and Bear. Lucy, the latest addition to Lindsey’s family, has been a great source of strength to the racer. “She makes me feel a little less alone. She has no idea if I ski. She doesn't care. And she'll snuggle with me no matter what. It's awesome," Lindsey commented.
#16. Maria Sharapova
Notorious tennis player and businesswoman Maria Sharapova is also very fond of dogs. She owns a Pomeranian, Dolce, who appeared in a Canon camera commercial with her. In Italian, Dolce means “sweet”. According to the Russian tennis player, Dolce is strong-willed. “He’s not a pushover and not afraid to tell you how he feels. He also loves to swim!,” she admitted.
Furthermore, the furry ball is also Sharapova’s greatest companion. “He’s my stress-reliever,” Sharapova commented after a Nike ad shoot. “Not that I was stressed, I just needed a little bit of fun.” Whose pet do you think comes next?
#15. Carson Wentz
The Eagles quarterback, Carson Wentz, loves to chuck balls downfield. Thankfully, he owns Henley, a Golden Retriever, to fetch them back! In November 2017, Henley became a mother to eight puppies. And of course, the proud owner shared it on his social media. "Added 8 more Eagles fans to the family!!,” the quarterback posted on Instagram.
Of the eight puppies, Carson and his family kept one, Jersey, who became the newest addition to the Wentz family. The NFL player is very proud of Jersey and he has been posting pictures to document his growth on social media. It won’t be long before Jersey joins mommy Henley on hunting adventures.
#14. Michelle Wie
Michelle Wie, the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship, became a professional golfer when she turned 16 years old. When Michelle is not on the golf court, she can be found hanging out with Lola, her Pomeranian. Before meeting Lola, Michelle dreamed of having a cocker spaniel.
At first, Michelle thought it was almost impossible for her to have a pet: she travels around too much and it was hard to fit that type of responsibility into her life. This all changed when she walked into a pet shop in 2010 and saw the little Pomeranian. Torn between the decision to leave the store or take the dog with her, she chose the latter. Ever since then, Lola and Michelle have been inseparable and Lola has become the center of Michelle’s world.
#13. Russell Westbrook
Can you believe that the 6 feet 3 inches tall basketball player gains another foot taller when his dog stands on his shoulder? The eight-time NBA All-Star owns a Maltese named Brodie, a small breed pooch, which is characterized for being extremely lively and playful. This type of dog is bred to be companion dogs. No wonder why the All-Star can place Brodie on his shoulder so easily.
In August 2016, Russell and little Brodie danced around together on Snapchat. The video became viral soon as it was shared hours before National Dog Day. Thanks to this, we can see how fun the NBA player is off the court and why he is one of the more likable players in the NBA. Can you guess the next superstar athlete?
#12. Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray OBE is not known for being the most verbose tennis player in interviews. Unlike her owner, border terrier Maggie May does all the talking for him. Believe it or not, this lovely dog used to have a Twitter account with almost 30,000 followers. She loved sharing stories about her faithful owner, Andy, and her sidekick Rusty, Andy’s second dog.
What’s more incredible is the fact that Maggie May became a published author (well, perhaps she received some help from Kim, Andy’s wife): she wrote a book entitled How to Look After Your Human: A Dog’s Guide. “The most important thing to get right is sleeping arrangements. You must never let your human forget the bed is yours and they are merely a guest,” Maggie May wrote.
#11. Michael Phelps
This Olympic legend (has earned a massive 28 medals) most likely knows he is a legend. And this could be the reason why he named one of his dog “Legend”. The retired swimmer owns a second dog called Juno, "named after the Roman goddess who was an Olympian & Queen of the gods." In total, the swimmer has two French Bulldogs.
The most decorated Olympian in history loves uploading content on behalf of the two family dogs on Instagram. Just like the owners, both pups love swimming, they have figured it out how to get in and out of the swimming pool and playing with their owners. In 2018, Michael and his French Bulldogs became collaborators with a pet food brand.
#10. Mike Tyson
This former professional boxer is known to have been a fierce and intimidating contender in the ring. But we’ve also learned that he likes comedy and he has made appearances in movies and TV shows. However, would you’ve guessed that this world champ loves raising and racing pigeons? Apparently, Mike has loved birds since he was a kid when he watched them flying around his apartment building.
Mike was a sensitive boy when he was younger. In fact, the heavyweight champion got into his first fight when he was just a little boy after witnessing how a bigger boy pulled the head off a bird. At that time, Mike wasn’t big enough so the bigger boy got away with this awful deed. There was a time when Mike also had two tigers, which made an appearance in The Hangover. However, he was forced to sell the big cats due to his financial problems. Since then, the boxer dreams of owning another pet tiger.
#9. Stephen Curry
This basketball player, who married his longtime girlfriend, Ayesha, in 2011, has already formed a wonderful family. Apart from his lovely wife and their three children, he owns a Goldendoodle, a breed obtained by crossing a Golden Retriever with a Poodle, named Rookie. The Curry family welcomed Rookie in 2017.
It seems that the family fell in love with him because of his green eyes, which are similar to Ayesha’s. Goldendoodles are a breed used as domestic pets not only because of their friendliness towards families but because of their affection and patience with children and strangers as well.
#8. Dez Bryant
Dez Bryant, former Cowboys wide receiver, became news in 2015, not because of his achievements as NFL player but because he brought home a capuchin monkey. Dez named the monkey Dallas Bryant. However, this raised controversy with PETA, the animal rights organization, who called animal control on him.
Apparently, there is a law in DeSoto, Texas, where Dez resides, which makes it illegal for people to own monkeys as pets. Local police authorities refused to issue a search warrant. It seems that Dez had to give Dallas away to a friend in the country after just 10 months. "But I get to see him," Dez sadly stated.
#7. Ben Simmons
This professional basketball player, the first Australian to receive an All-Star selection, thought it would be a good idea to own two Savannah cats, a hybrid cat breed. Ben always loved cats and he wanted to support #RaiseTheCat. In 2017, a Sixers fan started the social media movement in which fans raise their cats after each Sixers win.
Adopting both cats had a total cost of $10,000 and, later, the athlete would regret the decision of owning such cats. Apparently, both Savannah cats tore up Ben’s place. “I had two Savannah cats. … It was a bad purchase,” Ben commented. “They were crazy.” If you ever wanted to have one of these cats, you should think it twice!
#6. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional soccer player who is the captain of both Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. As we can appreciate, Messi isn’t the most notable being in the picture. His pet, Hulk –a suitable name for such a beast– is a Dogue de Bordeaux. The massive dog was a gift from his then-girlfriend-now-wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.
Messi’s dog is a breed that is characterized by its power and large body. In 2018, Lionel was training with Hulk at home ahead of the new season as a way to keep himself sharp. His wife even filmed the two playing soccer together while Messi dribbled past the 100-pound beast. It seems that not even Hulk can stop his master!
#5. Freddie Freeman
The first baseball that makes it to our list! Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman tends to stay calm in the batter’s box. And it seems that Nala, his cat, is just as relaxed as her owner. Freddie and his wife took the lovely cat with them on the way to Spring Training. And Nala didn’t have any problems and seemed to be enjoying the ride.
Nala is so well-behaved and is considered a part of the Freeman family that she couldn’t be left behind. As we can appreciate, Nala can sit upright in the car with her arms cross. Don’t you think she is waiting patiently to arrive at their destination? Can you guess #4?
#4. Serena Williams
This tennis player is a superstar among her fellow peers. If we had as many trophies as she has, we’d probably want to share them with someone. Fortunately, the Grand Slam champion has Chip, a Yorkshire Terrier, to spend time with at home and at tournaments around the globe. The tennis player cannot live without her furry dog.
Serena and Chip love to chill together, watch movies and hang out with friends. Additionally, Serena taught the furry Chip to nod his tiny head to say “yes”. It’s obvious that Chip receives a lot of attention from Serena, who loves to take videos of the little pooch and posting them on social media.
#3. Carmelo Anthony
Named ten times an NBA All-Star, Carmelo Anthony loves to stand out and “average” is not a word in his vocabulary. In 2011, Carmelo took us aback when he became the proud owner of a camel. “Everybody’s got dogs and cats as pets. I got a camel!,” he exclaimed on Twitter.
The famous tweet, which included the picture featured above, led NBA fans everywhere to speculate what Carmelo had named his new pet. The most common guess? "Camelo". Clever, right? If we had as much space as this star has at home, I bet many of us would also own a camel.
#2. Aaron Rodgers
This Green Bay Packers player is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, so it makes perfect sense that Rigsbee, an Australian Cattle dog, is one of the best boys in the world. This wonderful dog is extremely photogenic, so much so that he earned the chance to co-star in a State Farm ad with Aaron and Clay Matthews, his former teammate.
Although Rigsbee is not Aaron’s actual dog, he was just hired to co-star the ad, the quarterback owns two dogs, Chance, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and Frankie, a Jack Russell Terrier mix. They were both adopted by Aaron and his former girlfriend, who was a strong supporter of “adopt, don’t shop.”
#1. Colin Kaepernick
This former quarterback and political activist must have had a pretty interesting childhood. Since he was ten, Colin is the owner of Sammy, a pet tortoise, said to have fit in the palm of his hand when he was a kid. Nowadays, it would be hard for Colin to lift Sammy with one hand: the reptile is over 115 pounds!
The large tortoise is said to “eat the backyard.” There was a time when Sammy even had a Twitter account, where he wasn’t shy or slow to speak his mind. The former quarterback feeds Sammy out of his hand. Sometimes, Sammy even steals Colin’s helmet and volunteers to play the left guard. They must have an amazing relationship after all those years they’ve been together.