The Brazilian Tennis Open Is Using Shelter Dogs As Ballboys And It's Just As Adorable As You'd Think

Sep 20, 2018

Most dogs love to play fetch with tennis balls. So what better way to encourage this natural instinct to chase a moving object than to enlist dogs to retrieve balls at professional tennis matches? That's exactly what some special dogs were chosen to do recently in Brazil. Both players and fans just couldn't get enough of watching these canine ball boys and girls in action!

The backstory behind these inspiring dogs makes their involvement in professional sports even more impressive than it would be otherwise. You see, these aren't some type of specially bred prestigious pups who were born and raised to fulfill this distinguished role. On the contrary, they started out under humble circumstances as shelter dogs in the huge Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo.

To highlight their intelligence and impeccable manners, these dogs were put on display in a 2016 tennis match so that both the fans in the stands and in television audiences would see that shelter dogs are just as worthy of a loving home as any other dog.

The extra exposure led to a happy ending for these four incredible pooches. Each one was adopted. In honor of her status as a pro-tennis ball girl, one of the dogs was given the name Serena by her adoptive family. They must have been fans of American tennis star Serena Williams!

Encouraged by their success in finding homes for their tennis ball-fetching furry friends, shelter staff members arranged to give six more dogs the same opportunity during the warmups for both the semifinals and finals in 2018. They were even sporting darling little sweatbands and scarves in order to look the part!

Ovelha, Arlete, Pretinha, Mia, Cindy, and Nada are loving, energetic dogs ranging in age from four to ten years old. Premier Pet, a pet-food company, sponsored these dogs in their training for this event.

Besides hoping to find homes for these particular shelter dogs, Premier Pet hopes to raise awareness of the plight of the many other abandoned, abused, and neglected dogs in shelters throughout the world. This generous company supports both food subsidies and pet adoption efforts each year for numerous pets.

What do you think about this pet food company's idea to help give shelter dogs a second chance? Do you agree that these adorable dogs did an amazing job as professional tennis ball boys and girls?

Post your reactions to this heartwarming piece in the comments below! Pass this story along to all the animal lovers in your life!