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Two-year-old Ribeye has called the Spartanburg Humane Society home for the past year. For the better half of his life, he has been spending time with his caretakers, and his favorite toy, a tennis ball.

Dogs love tennis balls for fetching and interacting with their humans. But there is another, more unexpected reason these neon balls hold great appeal. Maureen Murithi, DVM And Team Vet For Spirit Dog Training explains to Hello Bark that the fuzzy texture of the ball might remind your pet of a rodent.

Ribeye loves his tennis ball for a different reason altogether, they bring him reassurance. According to the shelter staff, Ribeye occasionally finds his environment overwhelming. Sam Clutter, an animal care technician and adoption counselor at Spartanburg explained to The Dodo that the noises and smells from the other animals can cause some stress in shelter dogs.

Rubber Rescue, an outreach program that works to get recycled tennis balls to dogs in shelters, heard about Ribeye. It didn’t take long for boxes filled with 200 tennis balls to arrive at the Spartanburg Humane Society doorstep, specifically addressed to Ribeye.

Source: Cult Tennis/YouTube

Clutter described the scene to The Dodo, she brought Ribeye outside to meet with the baby pool that was soon filled to the brim with his favorite toy. The bouncing neon balls poured from the boxes, and Ribeye was overjoyed.

The Spartanburg Humane Society now has plenty of recycled tennis balls ready for many games of fetch. Every year around 125 million tennis balls land in the United States’ landfill each year, which amounts to about 3.5 tons of rubber. These balls can take centuries to break down, and as they do so they release methane. Recycling and repurposing your used tennis balls can potentially keep one of the most potent greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Consider recycling them with Recycle Balls, a program that turns used tennis balls into new tennis courts and the like. Or, of course, Donate your no longer needed tennis balls that are still in usable condition to your local dog shelter and make a pup as happy as Ribeye!

Check out these resources on recycling and responsible adoption: The Surprisingly Crucial Step to Recycle Plastic Bottles Correctly, Things to Consider Before Adopting Your Next Pet, Thinking About Adopting a Pet? Here are Some Useful Tips to Keep in Mind

Sign this petition to encourage recycling to become federal law

Ahisma Tee By Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection

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