Four trained shelter dogs that once roamed the streets of Sao Paulo found themselves centre stage at the Brazil Open last week.
In an exhibition with players Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain and Gastao Elias of Portugal, the canines Frida, Costela, Mel and Isabelle engaged onlookers last week by picking up balls that went out of bounds. Not long ago, the same dogs had run abandoned in Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city.
The shelter dogs, wearing orange ribbons and trained for months, spent almost a half-hour tracking down balls often intentionally missed by the 122nd and 140th ranked players.
At the command of their trainer Andrea Beckert, the dogs retrieved the balls with their teeth and ran off the court to their trainer. The unusual initiative was made to promote the adoption of abandoned street animals.