Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Demoliner plays with a shelter dog specially trained as a ball-retriever during an exhibition event at the Brazil Open tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, March 4, 2017. Wearing blue bandanas around their necks, specially trained shelter dogs showed off their talents shortly before Joao Sousa of Portugal met Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the day’s first semifinal match. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
SAO PAULO — Six shelter dogs looking to be adopted are playing fetch at the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo, giving tennis fans a demonstration of their ball-retrieving skills.
Wearing blue bandanas around their necks, Cindy, Nanda, Blackie, Mia, Arlete and Ovelha are racing around the clay court of the Pinheiros Club on Saturday. They are chasing down the balls hit by Brazilian tennis players Marcelo Demoliner and Joao Zwetsch and bringing them back.
The four-legged ball retrievers showed off their talents shortly before Joao Sousa of Portugal met Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the day’s first semifinal match.
The dogs come from two Sao Paulo shelters and are available for adoption.