Piper is a two-and-a-half-year-old Cavapoo who is such a sweetheart.

I’ve been with her since she was eight weeks old, and it’s been such a pleasure to watch her grow and mature.

She always liked to play fetch. When she was a puppy, playing fetch was how we spent our time together. But once we started going for walks, we lost our fetch time.

Until last winter.

I was in a walking boot and couldn’t go for walks. To make up for Piper’s lost exercise, I brought a couple of tennis balls, and we began playing fetch with them in the backyard.

She loved it!!

She loves the snow, and chasing snow-covered tennis balls became her favorite activity.

I told her owners how much fun we were having, so they bought some tennis balls and began playing in the house.

Piper was in heaven!

But after a couple of weeks, her owners weren’t. She became so obsessed with the balls that she was driving them nuts.

She wanted to play nonstop! It truly became an addiction.

I was still playing with her out back, and I could see the obsession in her eyes and behavior. She had gone crazy for tennis balls.

For the sanity of everyone involved, including Piper, it was decided that she needed an intervention. 

She was no longer allowed to have or play with tennis balls.

Thankfully, I was out of the boot and able to walk her again. That made the transition a little easier for her.

Piper survived her tennis ball obsession and now lives a clean and sober life without the addictive nature of tennis balls. She’s happy, and so are her owners.