Fetch! Canines play role of 'ball dogs' at London tennis event

A dog from the charity 'Canine Partners' acts as ball boy for a game during a Champions Tennis doubles match between Mansour Bahrami and Juan Carlos Ferrero vs Henri Leconte and Mikael Pernfors at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Britain December 6, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) - Hattie, Tina and Melvin played a different kind of game of fetch on Thursday when the canines took to a London court for the opening of the Champions Tennis tournament - working alongside ball boys and girls.

Arriving on court to the sound of the song "Who Let the Dogs Out", the canines drew cheers and applause from the audience as they helped retrieve stray balls in a doubles match between players Mansour Bahrami, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Henri Leconte and Mikael Pernfors.