2020 has hardly been the gift that keeps on giving, but there’s one thing that has always kept a smile on our faces – dogs.

From heart-warming reunions to dogs just generally doing stupid things, our four-legged friends have been the key to wholesome content over the past 12 months. 

So, with Christmas 2020 not being as we all hoped, we’ve made a list of its best 20 dog-related stories to help keep your spirts up; because, well, dogs are just great aren’t they

1. Michigan Guy Buys Fake Teeth To Cheer Himself Up In Isolation, His Dog Steals Them

Remember this cheeky chappy who stole his owners false teeth Not only was his owner, Ben Campbell, in stitches seeing his Yorkshire Terrier Thomas wearing a pair of false teeth, the rest of the world was too.

From the sounds of Ben’s reaction to discovering that Thomas had taken his teeth, I don’t think the tiny pooch ended up in the dog house.

2. Australian Woman Discovers Cutting Your Dog’s Hair During Isolation Is Not That Easy

Not only did the majority of grown men end up boasting 16-year-old Justin Bieber-esque haircuts through lockdown, if they didn’t completely shave it all off,  the world’s dogs were also culprits to some bad haircuts; one being Mash the Pomeranian.

In April, Mash’s owner Hermione, from Sydney, Australia, shared the aftermath of attempting to give her dog a haircut, and the results were priceless. Poor Mash went from a fluffy Pomeranian, to a rather p*ssed off-looking rabbit.

Lucky for Mash, eight months on, he is back to looking like his usual self.

3. Unicorn Dog Has One Ear In The Middle Of Her Head

Golden retriever pup Rae won over the hearts of the internet following her Instagram debut in March.

Dubbed ‘the unicorn dog’, Rae has just one ear perfectly placed on the top of her head. The adorable dog was left with one ear after an accidental injury at birth, and as she’s grown older her ear has ‘migrated’ to the top of her head.

Despite her unique look, Rae is still living her best, one-eared life.

4. Sausage Dog Sprains Tail From Wagging So Much Because Everyone Is Home

Not only have many people quite enjoyed working from home for the past few months, but our four-legged friends have enjoyed having us home all the time, too. This was perfectly demonstrated by sausage dog Rolo, who sprained his tail from wagging it so much in excitement.

Rolo was taken to the vets and put on pain relief at the time, with the vet predicting he’d make a speedy, full recovery.

5. Rescue Dog Who Never Had His Own Garden Built One By Loving Owners

After Bentley was adopted by his new owner KaTarra Taylor, he was over the moon to discover she had built a small garden just for him.

Bentley the Bloodhound had been to four different homes before KaTarra took him in, leaving the poor pooch suffering with anxiety. KaTarra even moved to a new home to accommodate for Bentley and, while she couldn’t afford a house with a large back garden, she knew how much Bentley loved grass, so dug up her patio to fit some grass for him. Adoption goals or what

6. Rescue Dog Who Lost Her Puppies Becomes Mum To Orphaned Kittens 

One for all the cat and dog lovers out there; after Georgia, an Australian Shephard Mix, lost her puppies, she mothered a trio of orphaned kittens instead. Anita Osa, founder of Sunshine Dog Rescue where Georgia and the kittens were being taken care of, said the dog looked after the kittens like they were her own babies.

Adding to the loveliness of it all, all four of them went on to find forever homes.

7. Kentucky School Surprised Little Girl By Including Photo Of Her Service Dog In Yearbook

A little girl with epilepsy was surprised by her school who included her service dog – a Labradoodle named Ariel – in the yearbook. Ariel apparently goes everywhere with 7-year-old Hadley Jo, so it only seemed right she got in the yearbook too.

Hadley Jo’s school said, ‘We love Ariel. She’s part of Hadley Jo’s family so she’s a part of our family too’. I’m not crying, you are.

8. Chunky Dog Put On Diet After Getting Stuck In Doggy Door

What’s better than a dog, I hear you ask A chunky dog, of course. However, some are chunkier than others, and this poor pooch ended up being put on a diet after he got stuck in his doggy door. Oops.

Drax the Labrador was previously living on the streets before being taken in by Charmaine Hulley and her husband, and wasn’t in a good way. Fast forward a few years and he’s become quite the pampered pooch… maybe a little bit too pampered from the size of his furry belly. No judgement here, Drax…

9.Woman Travels 600 Miles To Reunite With Dog She Lost Nearly Three Years Ago

We all love a good heartfelt reunion, and this one between a woman and her dog is bound to hit you in the feels.

TikToker Mariah Mayflower’s dog Hannibal was stolen from her home when she was on holiday. A huge social media appeal and two and a half years later, someone called Mariah to say they thought they had spotted her dog.

She then travelled 600 miles, back to where she lost Hannibal prior to moving to Tennessee, to find it was in fact him. Mariah has described their reunion as a ‘Christmas miracle’.

10. Koala Shares A Drink Of Water With Family’s Dog In Australian Backyard

The Australian wildfires destroyed the homes of thousands of Koalas this year, and this dog made room in his heart – and his water bowl – for one of the affected animals.

Danielle Stone captured the moment her dog Rusty came upon the Koala drinking from his bowl and, rather than telling it to scram, he simply stood next to the marsupial and drank alongside it. Stone said of the unlikely friendship, ‘I think humans could learn a thing or two from this pair.’

11. Dog Breaks Guinness World Record For Amount Of Tennis Balls In Mouth At Once

Who’s a good boy Finley is, that’s who. In February, the Golden Retriever broke the official record for the number of tennis balls held in a dogs mouth, increasing it from five to six balls.

Making it even more impressive, Finley somehow managed to put all the balls in his mouth by himself and without the assistance of his owners. Impressive.

12. Seth Rogen Responds To People Thinking He Looks Just Like This Dog

Remember the dog with the human face that got everyone talking Well, after many said the dog, named Nori, looked like the Bad Neighbours actor, he responded saying he was ‘flattered’.

Sharing a picture of Nori, Rogan wrote on Twitter, ‘I’ve been tagged by dozens of people saying I look like this dog and I couldn’t be more flattered’. I wonder what Nori thinks of it all…

13. Rhode Island Police Dog Sleeps Through His Entire Swearing-In Service

While most people would be excited to get a promotion, this adorable dog couldn’t have been less bothered and slept throughout the entire swearing-in service.

In a video, you can see chocolate Labrador Brody out for the count while his handler, officer Keith Medeiro, did all the hard work. But, looking at Brody’s adorable, sleepy face, it’s understandable no one had the heart to try and wake him up.

14. Dog Delivers Groceries To Neighbours Who Are Self-Isolating In Colorado 

The pandemic has brought out many people’s kind side, Sunny the golden retriever included. Sunny’s owner Karen Eveleth wanted to help her neighbour Renee Hellman throughout the pandemic, but also wanted to abide by social distancing rules, so used her four-legged friend as a way of getting Renee’s shopping list from her.

Sunny would retrieve the list from Renee, then carry the shopping to her once he returned from the shops with Karen. Who needs home delivery when you have Sunny, hey

15. Woman Immediately Regrets Trying To Cut Dog’s Hair By Herself

This owner obviously didn’t see how Mash ended up after his owner’s haircut attempt and accidentally ended up giving her Yorkshire Terrier bangs. Susana Soares, a hairdresser by trade, thought that trimming her dog Mano’s fringe wouldn’t be that difficult… but the end result said otherwise.

Anyone else think Mano looks like he’s about to ask to speak to the manager

16. Kent Woman ‘Completely Stuck’ As 70kg Dog Sits On Head During At-Home Work Out 

It’s not unheard of for pets to intrude on your home workouts, but this ginormous Great Dane took it to new levels and sat on his owner Amber Wheeler’s head mid-yoga session.

Fortunately, Amber filmed the moment six-year-old Blue sat on her head, and I bet she wished she had a female dog at that particular moment…

17. Puppy Keeps Face Perfectly Clean Despite Returning From Walk Covered In Mud 

By means of a miracle, after a very muddy walk, Onni the Samoyed managed to keep his face perfectly clean.

In a comical picture taken by Onni’s owner Lotta Alajoki, the white pup has transformed to a not-so white pup, and is covered in mud everywhere but by his eyes and on his snout. Looking like butter wouldn’t melt, Lotta explained that she couldn’t help but laugh.

18. Sausage Dog And Seal Become Best Friends After Meeting On Vacation

Here’s another cute, unlikely animal friendship for you, this time between a sausage dog and seal. Aayla the rescue seal and Stanley the two-year-old dachshund met at the Sea Life Trust Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall while Stanley was visiting the sanctuary with his owner Melanie Talbot.

Upon their first meeting, Stanley and Aayla posed for pictures together for a good 20 minutes. Name a more iconic duo, I’ll wait.

19. Deaf And Blind Dog Stopped By Police In Australia While Driving Around In Tiny Car

15-year-old Buddy was pulled over by Australian police in March for ‘driving under the influence of cuteness’ in his swanky, black Mercedes.

Luckily, Buddy didn’t end up behind bars though after police discovered it wasn’t actually Buddy driving, but his owner that was controlling the car.

20. Hipster Dog Nicknamed Chewbacca Has Fully-Grown Beard Of Dreams

Nuts, the Belgian Griffon, has a beard that any man would be jealous of, something which has earned him the nickname Chewbacca.

I mean, he looks so hipster that I’m surprised he’s not wearing harem pants and talking about his gap year in South East Asia.

We hope you enjoyed our list of wholesome dog content. We promise we’ll bring you much more of it over the course of 2021.