Surfing Dogs for Charity

Sep 18th 2009

We all knew squirrels could water ski, but who knew there were surfing dogs? Nearly 5000 people came out to witness pooches riding two-to-three foot waves last Sunday at San Diego county's North Beach, as canines in three different weight divisions duked it out in the world's largest dog-surfing competition. (Yes, there are many.) Sponsored by the Helen Woodward Animal Center, the event raised around $50,000 for the Rancho Santa Fe shelter.

A Jack Russell Terrier carried the lightweight division and a Golden Retriever mix dominated the middleweight proceedings, but the crowd favorite was a 3-year-old Bulldog named Dozer, who took the heavyweight crown. Clocking in at 75 pounds, Dozer had the perfect physique for a canine wave-rider. "Putting Dozer on there was like setting a square bowling ball on a surfboard," John Van Zante, the Center's spokesman, told Paw Nation. "Short and compact, with very low center of gravity, as long as he's got a smooth wave, that dog is not getting knocked off of the board."

A five pound Pomeranian named Bobby Gorgeous got some serious style points for his sunglasses, lei, surfer shorts and coconut bra -- "His mom said he was a cross-dressing surfer dude," Van Zante adds -- but a Chihuahua dressed like a lobster ultimately won the event's costume contest. (The crowd was a bit taken aback, however, when the pet's guardian, who was wearing an apron and a chef's hat, dipped her into a ersatz lobster boiler.)

As odd as a dog on a board sounds, Van Zante insists that these dogs will do anything for their human companions – so long as there's trust involved. "Their eyes look into your soul and say, 'Tell me everything's going to be okay,'" he says. "But it's important that we don't make them do it if they don't enjoy it. I like to say, 'You can lead a dog to water, but you can't make him surf.'"