Thankfully, that’s just a film, and the chances of seeing a huge four legged creature on the tube are very remote… unless you ride the Bakerloo line from Pinner to Baker Street. If you do ride that line you might have seen Rufus, the giant Pyrenean mountain dog, who rides the tube every day with his owner Michael Stavrides.

Fifty-year-old Stavrides, and his five-year-old giant dog, ride the tube every day and have made quite a few friends on the way.

Michael explains how the reaction to Rufus is always friendly, despite his huge, intimidating frame.

It’s amazing the reaction of people as I take Rufus on the train.

Although he does tend to slump across the carriage floor people absolutely love him,’ says Michael, who owns the Fine Art Gallery in Marylebone.

People actually tell me they get on the train that isn’t their train just to go to the next stop with him.

They tell me it makes their day, particularly as we’re going through a credit crunch.

Rufus isn’t just a giant dog for the people either, he’s mixed with the stars on the tube, including Barbara Windsor, Dale Winton and Little Briton’s Matt Lucas.

I’ve even had people park their cars just to get out to say hello and take a picture with him.

Have you seen Rufus on the London underground?

Jean-Luc Renaud was interviewed by the Times, as he saw a Belgian tourist who had been ravaged by a Pyrenean mountain dog. He told the Times that the tourist was staggering towards him, covered in blood:

His shorts were torn and he had been bitten badly in both buttocks. He was in a state of complete shock.

The mountain dogs were brought in to deal with wolves, and have caused controversy within the local community. There is already debate over the reintroduction of wolves in France.

Because of the attacks by the Pyrenean mountain dogs, shepherds have faced prosecution and 17 dogs have been poisoned.

The dog in question, Le Chien de Montagne des Pyrénées (which means Pyrenean mountain dog) is a fearless dog that weighs up to 60kg. They will fight to the death to save their flock against predators such as wolves and bears.

After wolves were reintroduced in France, in 1992, the Pyrenean mountain dogs were introduced as an attempt to pacify shepherds. The dogs have been very effective, bringing down the deaths of flock from wolves from 3,700 to 2,500 in just one year.

However the dogs are also quite fierce when approached by anyone they consider a threat, such as the holidaymakers. When Mr Renaud found the Belgian tourist he also found four dogs had surrounded him.

I am not afraid of dogs and so I stopped to let the female come up to sniff me. She not only smelt me, she bit me in the calf.

Recently 17 dogs were killed after they had eaten poisoned meat. It’s not clear if the deaths were from extremists who are supporting the reintroduction of the wolves, and don’t want the mountain dogs protecting flock, or whether it’s down to locals who are unhappy at the drop in tourism due to the attacks.

Whatever the reason, the Pyrenean mountain dogs are merely doing their jobs in protecting their flock from predators.