Rescue dogs will again serve as ball boys at Brazil Open tennis tournament

For the second straight year, rescue dogs will serve as "ball dogs" during warm ups at the Brazil Open tennis tournament.

The ball dogs are back. 

After debuting last year, dogs will once again serve as ball boys during the warm ups for the semifinal and final of the Brazil Open tennis tournament on March 4-5. 

What elevates the story from cute to heart-warming is the fact that the six dogs who will participate—Cindy, Nanda, Pretinha, Mia, Arlete and Ovelha— have been abandoned and are looking for new homes. 

"No matter their origin or age, when they are loved and fed properly [rescued dogs] can be wonderful companions. [They can] play, learn new things and accomplish great deeds, " organizer Madalena Spinazzola said in a Portugese-language release that The Dodo translated. "They are dogs that have had difficulties in life, yes. But what we want to show is not the stories suffered in the past, rather to prove that, regardless of what they've experienced, they can be great companions today and in the future!"

The dogs will no doubt slobber all over the balls, but we're fans of anything that brings abandoned dogs closer to finding a new home.

Wow I love dogs so much. 

-Daniel Rapaport