The best dogs of 2020 that helped us through tough times

You don’t need us to tell you that things have been rubbish this year.

If there’s one thing that’s always there to cheer us up, though, it’s the sweet gift of dogs .

They’re not called man’s best friend for nothing, and have lightened the load with some funny moments and feats of bravery and loyalty.

Even if you don’t have a dog yourself, we’re sure you’ll agree that these ones are amazing and adorable.

Here are our top picks from 2020.

Dexter the musical dalmatian

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‘Britain’s naughtiest dog’ Cooper

the distruction wrought by Cooper the boxer — We shouldn’t laugh, but destructive Cooper doesn’t even look guilty (Picture: Jill Kirkham/SWNS)

Rescued Lily-Mae’s pregnancy photoshoot

These well-dressed elderly dogs

Animal shelter dresses dogs as old people to get them adopted — The pups were dressed in old people clothes to help them get adopted (Picture: @flagler_humane_society)

Maxine the corgi

Wilbur, the mayor of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky

Rabbit Hash mayor dog — That’s Mr Mayor to you (Picture: Facebook)

Joe Biden’s rescue dogs Champ and Major

First dogs Major and Champ will move into White House with Joe Biden — Major and Champ will be the first rescue dogs in the White House (Picture:@Drbiden/Instagram)

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Dachshunds were originally bred to fight badgers.

Gentle giant Hammer

A baby girl cuddles the family Rottweiler in a video posted on Instagram by her mother — Although some people are scared of big dogs like Hammer, he proves some are big softies (Picture: vanessa___fernandes__)

Surfer dude Rothstein

Video grab from the incredible footage of Rothstein the Bulldog and his awesome surfing skills at the beach city of Del Mar, San Diego. See SWNS story SWBRbulldog. Meet Rothstein: the sea faring bulldog with a passion for surfing. The talented dog has been surfing at the beach city of Del Mar, San Diego since he was a puppy. Footage shows 3-year-old Rothstein clearly having the time of his life as he effortlessly glides through the water under the watchful eye of his owner John Garcia. — He’s been riding the waves since he was a puppy (Picture: John Garcia / SWNS.COM)

These curious fence-peekers

dogs peeking through holes in a fence — An owner made holes in the fence so these sweet pups could say hello (Picture: Liltroubless/TikTok)

Halloween king Toad

All of this postie’s best dog pals

Mailman makes friends with every animal he meets on the job — On his rounds, this mailman met hundreds of friendly dogs (Picture: @carteiroamigodosanimais)

Basketball star Lilo

Video grab of Lilo the corgi and her unique talent - throwing basketball trick shots!See SWNS story SWBRcorgi. Meet Lilo the adorable corgi with a unique talent - throwing basketball trick shots! Five-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi Lilo developed her talent over the lockdown period by taking out the energy she would usually get from socialising with other dogs, on balloons. Owner Denny Ku noticed the motion of Lilo hitting the balloons was similar to that of shooting a basketball and soon began teaching her 'trick shots'. Denny, 29, films and publishes her amazing trick shots on the social media page @aircorg and his talented little fluffball is now gaining a lot of attention. — Proof that any dog can learn new tricks (Picture: @aircorg / SWNS.COM)

Greedy Max who ate his lead

Dog ate his own lead — There was a happy ending for this greedy chonk (Picture: PA)

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New York Pet Fashion Show: Dogs wow in futuristic space fashion
(Picture: Johannes EISELE/AFP) He knows he looks good (Picture: Johannes EISELE/AFP) Mama alien with her fur babies (Picture: Johannes EISELE/AFP) When two divas meet on the red carpet (Picture: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs) Finishing touches for this babe (Picture: Reuters/Caitlin Ochs) The humans did pretty well at the futuristic fashion too (Picture: Reuters/Caitlin Ochs) We can’t handle this cuteness (Picture: Reuters/Caitlin Ochs) Does the outfit include batteries?

Cancer survivor and therapy dog Jeanie

Formerly stray car company mascot Tucson

Stray dog adopted as Brazilian car company mascot — Tucson hung around so much they let him stay (Picture: @tucson_prime)

Silly blue whippet Bessie

Fur-ocious! Embarrassed dog owner reveals how their family pet was left bright BLUE for four days after rolling on an acrylic painting Travel agent Sacha Barbato, 49, from Brandiston, Norfolk, revealed how two-year-old Bessie was left a violent shade of turquoise for almost four days The Bedlington-Whippet cross decided to roll on a canvas that had been left out to dry in the garden, resulting in the colourful new look Her owner, says the family got 'funny looks' for days while out walking Bessie, as the colour refused to fade - despite two washes — Bessie got into some paint (Picture: Twitter/ @sachab71)

Goodest boy ever Niño

Sk8r boi Darrel

Meet the adventurous pup who has spent the pandemic quarantine learning how to SKATEBOARD. — Check out this cool guy (Picture: Hailey Adair / SWNS)

Golden oldie August

August just turned 20, making her the world?s oldest golden retriever — August just turned 20 this year, making her the world’s oldest golden retriever (Picture: Facebook/GoldHeartGoldenRetriever)

Pampered pups Romeo and Reggie

romeo and reggie wearing sparkling bow ties — The duo have a wardrobe that cost more than £20,000 in total (Picture: Leone Galler)

Excitable cat flap thief Jock

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: 94% of pet owners say their animal pal makes them smile more than once a day.

Firefighters had to come to the rescue of a Staffordshire bull terrier after he got his head stuck in a cat flap. — Firefighters had to come to the rescue of a Staffordshire bull terrier after he got his head stuck in a cat flap (Picture: SWNS/North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue)

CPR hero Pixie

This incredible dog is so clever she has learned to do - CPR. See SWNS story SWOCcpr. Senior shelter officer Tania Butler, 35, said it only took her Boxer Pixie, three, 45 minutes to learn the incredible trick. Now when Tania lies motionless on the floor, and is unresponsive, Pixie will leap into action and pound on her chest in exactly the right place. She's got so good the animal management worker had to start putting a book under her top during training, to stop him hitting her so hard. Tania said she taught her the trick just for the fun of it during lockdown - but hopes she'd be able to help save a life now if she needed to. — Pixie is so clever, she has learned to do CPR (Picture: Tania Butler / SWNS)

Big poodles

Giant poodles with dog — These huge poodles love playing with kids (Picture: tamanegi.qoo.riku)

Sad isolation dog Big Poppa

Big Poppa dog — Someone hug Big Poppa NOW (Picture Rashida Ellis)

Our favourite wine courier Soda

Social distancing might be ?ruff,? but now there?s really nothing to ?wine? about thanks to this delivery dog! Like many restaurants, Stone House Urban Winery in Hagerstown, Maryland recently transitioned to delivery and take-out only as a way to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). That?s when Lori Yata, co-owner of the winery, thought of the perfect way to employ no-contact delivery ? with her 11-year-old dog, Soda Pup. According to the New York Post, the 75-pound boxer mix is the new on-site delivery boy, offering curbside wine delivery to customers who order bottles of wine for pickup. ?Mom says that we all have to pitch in and pull our weight, that includes me as well. So, if you are out shopping and have kids in the car, or just want to keep your distance from other folks, give us a call and place your order,? the winery posted on Facebook, alongside a picture of Soda Pup in his delivery gear. — Soda delivered wine to thirsty quarantiners earlier in the year (Picture: Stone House Urban Winery

Ping, the little chihuahua that could

Ping the chihuahua post op. See SWNS story SWBRdog; A tiny paralysed Chihuahua can now walk - after it was given a custom designed 3-D printed bionic implant in its neck. Owner Zoe Cekalla took her pet, four-month-old Ping, to the vet after noticing he struggled walking on all four legs. The chihuahua was instantly referred to Specialist Vets at Hamilton Specialist Referrals, where Ping was diagnosed with a severe malformation in his neck. CT and MRI scans showed that Ping's bones were not formed properly leading to instability and a pressure on the spinal cord. He was hospitalised and put in a neck brace while he waited for surgery, which he received six days later. The specialists used custom designed 3-D printed guides to position 1mm screws to stabilise Ping's neck. — Ping can now walk – after she was given a custom designed 3D printed bionic implant in her neck (Picture: Hamlilton Specialist Referrals)

Coco the waving party pup

coco the maltese dog — Coco loves nothing better than standing on her hind legs (Picture: cocothemaltese/Instagram)

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Smiley Ducky

ducky smiling — Look at Ducky’s smile and feel your serotonin return (Picture: Gillian Louise)

Record-holding bigmouth Finley

Grumpy Dog

Lulu the vanishing pup

Lulu, a nine-year-old Rottweiler before the weightloss — Lulu before she lost her puppy fat (Picture: SWNS.com)

Environmentalist queen Molly

Molly has picked up hundreds of pieces of litter from her local beach (Picture: Fliss Cater / SWNS)

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