Roy Keane - Dog

Dog

Keane had a Labrador Retriever named Triggs, who died in 2010. Triggs came to international attention in 2002 during an incident ahead of that year's FIFA World Cup when Keane engaged in a public quarrel and left the squad. Triggs accompanied Keane on regular walks pursued by the press. The footballer said of Triggs, "Unlike humans, dogs don't talk shit". The Daily Telegraph's Steve Wilson once described Triggs as "the most famous dog in football since Pickles, a mongrel who dug up the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy in 1966, or that dog that relieved itself on Jimmy Greaves at the 1962 World Cup". Henry Winter, writing in the same paper, called Triggs "the fittest dog in Cheshire" and opined that "if Cruft's held an endurance event, Keane and Triggs would scoop gold".

Following his rise to fame Triggs was mentioned by several sources on many occasions, with Keane dogged by numerous canine references for the remainder of his career. In 2006, when Keane moved house to Sunderland, his reunion with Triggs, who joined him later, came to the notice of the press. In 2007, Keane was reported to have heard of his team's promotion to the Premiership while walking Triggs. The following year, Keane was said to have acquired a German Shepherd Dog named Izac to accompany Triggs.

In later life, Triggs was involved in a police investigation when his behaviour caused an argument between Keane and a neighbour. He appeared in an Irish Guide Dogs advertisement in 2009 - whereupon the Irish Examiner referred to him as "football's biggest canine celebrity" - and also received his own profile on Facebook. Triggs was described as a "celebrity" and a "household name" upon erroneous reports of her death from cancer in September 2010. Keane was described as "inconsolable". The Irish Examiner's obituary noted how "At critical moments when the nation's happiness seemed entwined with Roy's moods, he turned to his Labrador Triggs and took to the road".