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It's always a special day when a kid is chosen to be a club mascot - to walk out of the tunnel holding the hand of an iconic player and hear the roar of the crowd from the centre of the pitch.

We can only assume that dogs feel a similar level of excitement in the same situation. They're very rarely in said situation, of course. Thankfully, Sao Paulo FC have just remedied that - for all of you who've always felt the choice of kids as mascots was deeply unfair on the canine community, this clip is for you.

Ahead of their big match with Palmeiras in the Brazilian Série A , Sao Paulo's players walked out onto the pitch with pooches for pals. We hope they didn't befoul the pitch - now that really could have made for a dirty match.

(Image: Friedemann Vogel/Getty)

The dogs then lined up with their adoptive players to await kick off - they looked to have the "stay" command down to a tee, to be fair.

(Image: Friedemann Vogel/Getty)

Though it made for a bizarre sight, it was all in aid of a good cause. The display was intended to encourage the denizens of Sao Paulo to adopt stray dogs as part of a city-wide campaign - all with the animals' wellfare at heart.

Sao Paulo could only manage a 1-1 draw with their league rivals in the ensuing game, unfortunately.

Apparently the performance was a tad toothless - their bark was worse than their bite.