Tag Archives: Huntington Beach

Amusing Monday: Surf dogs flip over wild waves in Southern California

The surf was running wild at this year’s Surf City Surf Dog competition at Huntington Beach, Calif., where the boards were flipping and the dogs were flying.

The dogs and their owners were more nervous than normal this year during the three-day event that raises money for nonprofit rescue groups. Crowds turned out in large numbers for the finals, which took place a week ago yesterday.

“It’s a crackup watching the dogs,” spectator Tom Baker told Laylan Connelly, a reporter for the Orange County Register. “The people think the dogs are enjoying it, but I’m not so sure the dogs are enjoying it today. The surf was heavy.”

Lifeguards were on hand to help with any problems, and they advised dog owners when it was safe to go out. The contest had 68 dog entries, and many of them were longtime competitors in the sport. As I watched the first video on this page, I was hoping that the owners knew their dogs and their abilities, along with their own abilities. No injuries were reported, and the images came out more spectacular than ever.

In some ways, the still images are more thrilling than the videos. See this great collection of photos posted by the London Daily Mail.

Here is a highlights video by Mike Lukas and Jerome Mel on the Surf City Surf Dog YouTube channel.

The waves were calmer in July at the annual Unleashed by Petco Surf Dog Competition at Imperial Beach, Calif. The second video on this page is a personal video posted by a couple on Tower magazine.

Another take on the Imperial Beach event is offered on YouTube by Richard Mellinger.

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Amusing Monday: See Spot; See Spot splash

Through the years, I’ve featured some surfing dogs in this “Amusing Monday” feature. While dogs are still surfing strong in various contests each year, I thought it would be nice to see some other doggy feats.

The first video player on this page is the Diving Dog competition at this year’s Western Regionals for the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge in Huntington Beach, Calif. The second video is the Fetch It Diving competition at the same event, which occurred on May 30 and 31.

The Incredible Dog Challenge, now in its 17th year, includes a slalom course for “pole weaving,” an agility course for large and small dogs and a freestyle flying disc event, in addition to diving and fetching. A good recap of the event is shown in the third video at the bottom of this page.

I suggest taking a closer look at some of these speeding-bullet dogs, shown in videos of the winning events. (Scroll down and click on “Western Regionals” for more options.) I understand that King TV Channel 5 will air events from the Western Regionals this Sunday at 10 a.m.

Winners from the Eastern Regionals, held in Atlanta in April, and winners from the Western Regionals will go on the compete at the National Championlship in September in St. Louis.

We can’t forget about the surf dogs. The Unleashed by Petco Surf Dog Competition was held July 13 in Imperial Beach, Calif. The page includes pictures of the winners. One of the better videos from that competition was put together by International Business Times of London.

Purina compiled some video clips to show surf dogs riding the waves at the Huntington Beach competition. Another good dog surfing video was offered by SoCal magazine.

Finally, for some high-resolution images of dogs in the surf, check out the slide show put together by The Telegraph of London with pictures by Joe Kalamar of AFP and Lucy Nicholson of Reuters.

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Amusing Monday: Surf dog connects people to water

A golden retriever puppy named Ricochet was being trained as a service dog, but she was never quite suited for the work. After a period of transition, she became known as a SURF-ice dog. She loves to go surfing and has a special connection with special-needs people.

ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi captures the story well in an eight-minute video that I bring to you this week, even though the video is a little longer than most that I post on Amusing Monday.

Another video about Ricochet, written by her owner Judy Fridono, explains why it is important for people to find their true destiny. It’s titled, Riding a Wave of Hope with Ricochet, who got her name, by the way, because she was bouncing off the walls with energy when she was a puppy.

Ricochet’s early life is described in more detail in a story by Jenny McCarthy in Woman’s Day magazine. And a question-and-answer session with Judy Fridono was transcribed on the website Animal Fair.

I first learned about and featured dog-surfing competitions in Amusing Monday two years ago. See 1) June 13, 2011 and 2) Oct. 3, 2011.

Updating the competitions, I found a few more amusing videos about dog-surfing:

  • The 2012 Surf City Surf Dog Contest at Dog Beach in Huntington Beach California in a video production by SoCal Beaches Magazine.
  • A new Dog Surfing Competition this year at Juno Beach, Fla., with video from WPTV, West Palm Beach.
  • The long-running Leows Surf-Dog Competition, now in its eighth year, reported by Rachel Smith, Los Angeles correspondent for ABC News.

Last, and perhaps least, Randall was on the scene at the Leows competition this year, offering commentary and conducting interviews with folks on the beach. See the video player below. Randall, who loves to talk about animals, is best known for his off-color commentary regarding the “badass” honey badger.

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