Shelter Ball Dogs Return To Brazil Open Tennis Tournament

A hit last year, ball dogs are back at a tennis tournament in Sao Paulo.

Four dogs from local shelters were showcased 12 months ago during the clay-court tournament in Brazil’s largest city — and all four were eventually adopted.

It was a barking good idea, then.

This time around, six canines ranging in age from four to 10 — Cindy, Nanda, Pretinha, Mia, Arlete and Ovelha — will be fetching balls during the warmups on the semifinal and final days, March 4-5.

“They are dogs that have had a difficult trajectory, yes, but what we want to point out is not the history suffered from the past, but to prove that no matter what they have gone through, they can be great companions today and in the future!” Madalena Spinazzola, from pet-food maker PremieR Pet — organizing the initiative with the tournament — told the Brazil Open’s website.

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Iniciativa de sucesso que ganhou destaque no Brasil e no mundo em 2016, os CãoDulas estão de volta! O Torneio Aberto do Brasil – ATP 250 – #BrasilOpen 2017, em parceria com a @premierpet, empresa especialista em alimentos de alta qualidade para cães e gatos, apresenta o novo “time” de cães que irá entrar em quadra no torneio, no Esporte Clube Pinheiros. Os jogadores que chegarem à semifinal e à grande final do torneio, nos dias 4 e 5 de março, vão dividir a atenção do público com uma turma de CãoDulas muito especial: Cindy, Nanda, Pretinha, Mia, Arlete e Ovelha, cães das ONGs Projeto Segunda Chance (São Paulo, SP) e Cão Sem Dono (Itapecirica da Serra, SP). Você não vai querer perder esse show! Ingressos: Ingresso Rápido – http://migre.me/w3yw3

A post shared by Brasil Open (@brasilopen) on Feb 15, 2017 at 10:34am PST

Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas is the two-time defending champion at the clay-court tournament, while nine-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal has also twice been a victor there.