SAN JOSE, California: When many non-pet owners think about dogs they envision hairy, loud, dangerous animals with weird names and which bite, scratch or attack anything they see. However this is just as accurate a description of professional wrestlers.

However the link between the humble domestic pet dog and professional wrestling isn't as tenuous as you may think.

The latest big wrestling promotion in the US was The Great American Bash. For the uninitiated, The Great American Bash is an annual summer pay-per-view event produced by the WWE.

Both wrestling and the process by which animals were domesticated into human pets for have already been cemented into human history. According to Wikipedia, Genesis chapter 32 depicts "Jacob wrestling with the Angel," during which Jacob was renamed Israel. 'Israel' translates as "to wrestle or struggle with God."

Chinese wrestling called Shuai Jiao is said to be 4000 years old. During these matches, combatants reportedly wore horned helmets to spear their opponents while using a primitive form of grappling. In Ancient Greece (around 1100 to 146 B.C.), Greek wrestling was the most popular sport. To this day, this kind of wrestling is still played in modern Turkey, only the rules are a bit different.

Wrestling continues to entertain people the world over. Over the years, it has even evolved to accommodate four-legged participants. No, not mutant wrestlers. Furry, four-legged participants we more commonly know as dogs. Yes, dogs.

Canines, in their own way, have managed to become part of today's popular staged wrestling. For one, wrestlers love adopting the 'dog' persona. During the early 1980s, Sylvester Ritter became popular as the Junkyard Dog. As the Junkyard Dog, he wore a dog collar with a long chain attached, strode to the ring pushing a cart filled with junk.

But before the Junkyard Dog, there was Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon. Vachon came from a family of wrestlers. During his career, he came up with a novel tactic - buy local TV time prior to a match and taunt his opponent. He was able to establish himself as a "wrestling beast inside the ring who would freely stomp, bite and pound his opponent into submission." Wrestling promoter Don Owen then gave him the nick name "Mad Dog."

Other canine-inspired 'rasslers' worked in pairs. The British Bulldogs (who were cousins in real life), were considered as one of the best tag-teams in wrestling history.

The Pitbulls (Jamie Noble and Kid Kash) were a short-lived tag team. As part of their gimmick, Noble and Kash would wear dog collars and chains to the ring. They would also bark, bite and perform canine antics during matches. However, their ring gimmick had already been made popular by Gary Wolfe and Anthony Durante, another tag-team known as the Pitbulls.

However, perhaps the largest group of canine-themed rogues ever to take on the wrestling world was The Moondogs. The Moondogs were known for their "brawl-filled bloodfests." They were a group of ten rough-and-ready brawlers, each with names beginning with Moondog (Moondog Fifi, Moondog Rex, etc).

Aside from 'dog-named rasslers', real live canines have also enjoyed their share of the wrestling spotlight. Fifi, a French poodle, 'co-hosted' a segment on SmackDown, a WWE promotion. Lucy, a bulldog, was the cherished pet of wrestling superstar Triple H. Lucy made several appearances on TV before being 'tied' to the back of a limousine and accidentally 'run over' by Triple H himself - much to his 'distress'.

On a happier note, a Maltese named Chloe is the constant companion of wrestling diva Torrie Wilson. Chloe made her wrestling debut late 2005. In fact, one of Torrie's wrestling moves is named after her darling doggy - the "Chloe Tush Push" involves rubbing Chloe's behind onto a vanquished opponent's face.

Outside the ring, other wrestling divas have displayed the internal animal lover. WWE's Mickie James is in fact a horse enthusiast and used to groom her grandmother's horse back when she was still in school. She has three horses named Rhapsody, Bunny and Casanova. In the future, she plans to retire to horse riding after her wrestling career.

Former women's champ Amy Dumas (better known as Lita), is also an animal lover. In contrast to her notorious wrestling reputation, in real life Amy has shown nothing but genuine love and concern for animals. In 2003, she founded the A.D.O.R.E. (Amy Dumas Operation Rescue and Education) animal charity. A.D.O.R.E. aims to stop animal overpopulation and the needless euthanasia of adoptable pets. Amy is presently fostering a dog named MacKenzie.