Surfing Dogs Ride the Waves for Charity

Ever since the skateboarding dog pedaled its way to YouTube fame, pooches everywhere have been in training to become America's next big athletic sensation. That's the only way to explain why 65 dogs mounted surfboards and tacked the West Coast waves this weekend.

The dogs competed in the fifth annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition in California on Saturday, an event to benefit the San Diego Police Canine Unit.

The competitors -- ranging in size from an 85-pound Bernese mountain dog to a 5-pound Pomeranian -- hit the shores of Imperial Beach, braving stormy weather to ride the waves on human-sized surfboards. Each life-vest adorned dog was placed on a surfboard and released onto the shallow waves to see how long they'd last on the board. They were judged not only on the length of their ride, but also their confidence and overall ability.

Of course, this isn't the first canine surfing event, and many of the competitors are veterans of the sport. Tonic.com reports that many of the pups competing Saturday have websites, Facebook fan pages and even sponsors.

Among the 2,000 fans in attendance was another famous dog; the Great Dane starring in the new Twentieth Century Fox Film, "Marmaduke" was present along with the film's two-legged stars, Owen Wilson and George Lopez.

The trophy was taken by Abbie, a 3-year-old rescued Australian Kelpie.

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