What Happens When You Mix 4,000 Tennis Balls with 2 Rescue Dogs? Inspiration!

It all started with a dog named Everything and an owner looking for a special way to honor his very best friend after she passed.

Chris Sontag-Ratti’s best furry friend, a beautiful old girl appropriately named ‘Everything’, passed away in 2014. Two years later, Chris came up with a unique way to honor her memory.

Chris purchased 100 tennis balls and posted a photo to Instagram, offering to send one to anyone that asked, in the hope they’d use it to spend quality time with their dogs.

 

Doing an AMA on reddit…. 1/10/2017 On Jan 23 I’ll mark 2 years without my best friend. I purchased 100 tennis balls last week. I plan on sending them to anyone who wants one. I hope that all the people who get a ball from me will use it to spend some quality time with their best friend. If you would like a ball please email me your name and address and I will send you one. Direct message on IG works too. If you know someone who might like a ball feel free to tag them. I cover all costs… My email is [email protected] The artwork on the flyer was put together kindly by @steezjuice.. Edit: wow, i am blown away by the requests for tennis balls. Going to have to buy some more now. Thank you to everyone who requested a ball. Ill do my best to make sure everybody gets one. Thank you all. #tennisballsforeverything #dogsofinstagram #dogs #bestfriend #inlovingmemory #Rottweiler #boxer #bulldog #goldenretriever #frenchbulldog #puppy #Doberman #chihuahua #tennis #love #remember #dog #woof

A photo posted by Futuristic Mega Monstrosity (@imso) on Jan 19, 2016 at 8:18pm PST

More than 8,000 dog owners responded to Chris’ post. At first, Chris wasn’t sure he’d be able to get rid of the 100 balls he’d purchased. Suddenly, he found himself wondering how he’d fulfill all the requests.

Inspired by Chris’ idea, Dan’s Dog Walking & Pet Sitting, all the way across the country in Port Washington, New York, set out to honor Everything’s memory and bring awareness to shelter dogs.

“We were so inspired by Chris’ amazing idea that it made us start thinking…how can we help get homes for dogs in shelters so they can start creating their own memories with their new families? Then it hit us!” Dan’s Pet Care explained on their website. “For a dog in a shelter being as adopted is as awesome as being able to jump into a pool full of tennis balls!”

There are a few different ways you can help Dan’s Dog Walking & Pet Sitting make their amazing idea a success!

1. Share this video!

2. Go to www.danspetcare.com and tell them about your favorite shelter! They will send the shelter a bag of tennis balls that can be sent home with each newly adopted dog to start making their own memories in their new forever home.

3. Make a donation to your favorite shelter! Animal shelters work incredibly hard on tiny budgets and they can always use some help! Remember every dollar counts so if you can spare a few look up your local shelter to donate today.