Bay Area dweller Chris Sontag-Ratti decided to commemorate the memory of his beloved dog in the best way: to send free tennis balls to anyone who would use them to play with their own dogs, while they still had time together.
In January of 2013, the Boxer-Rottweiler mix passed away at the age of 12 from cancer. Her name was Everything.
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Although the name was picked at random, this sweet mutt certainly lived up to her name in the context of her owner’s life. “Some people have religion and some people have, you know, their materialistic things, but for me it was the dog,” said Sontag-Ratti in a story by NBC Bay Area.
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“Any time I got into troubled water, she was like an extra reason for me to make sure to get out and stay out…No matter what, I had her as like this responsibility and I never let that go,” he explained to NBC Bay Area.
Still grieving, the owner came up with the idea to send free tennis balls to dog lovers, encouraging them to appreciate the time they have with their canine companions in honor of Everything.
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Sontag-Ratti purchased 100 tennis balls and posted the offer on Instagram, expecting little response, if any at all. To his surprise, the post gained over 8,000 likes within 24 hours, and lots of tennis ball requests!
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Regarding the project’s success, Sontag-Ratti told NBC Bay Area, “I feel great about it. It wasn’t just about Everything and myself. It was about affecting other people and like getting them in contact with their, with their pets…So that maybe a backyard dog on a chain, hopefully, they’ll let the dog off the chain and throw the ball or something.”
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Chris has since taken on another furry family member. A foster fail, Scooby is a pup saved from a life in dog fighting and was the longest resident at the shelter before Chris came along. Still, Chris remembers Everything fondly, and together they made the world a little better.
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