Surfing dogs dodge big waves before huge crowd at Pacifica’s world championships

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Aug 2, 2025 | John Barned-Smith

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Iza leaned down into her board, slicing through the surf at Linda Mar Beach, the cheers from spectators filling the air.

Moments before running aground, she leaped off the board and gave a shake.

Iza, a 5-year-old French bulldog, was one of more than a dozen canine competitors who traveled to Pacifica from as far as Brazil to participate in Saturday’s annual World Dog Surfing Championships with their humans.

Dogs surfed alone and in tandem with their humans, in roiling waves that one human compared to a washing machine.

Thousands of spectators filled the beach, braving fog and 55-degree air, many bringing their own dogs.

They chatted with competitors, posed for photos with the surf dogs and dodged waves as they vied for the best spots to watch the action.

Among them was Akasha Fobbs, a 23-year-old mechanical engineer, who watched with delight from the shoreline with several friends. This was her second time watching the event.

“I’m really enjoying it,” she said, taking a sip from her Baja Blast margarita to ward off the damp chill. “The waves are bigger, and the dogs are hitting them harder, bless their little hearts.”

Competitors ranged from Petey, a 6-year-old West Highland white terrier, to Cacau, a chocolate Labrador and the 2024 grand champion of the surf competition.

This year’s competition was foggy and cold, with messy chop that made wave-riding more challenging, several competitors said. Several surfers swam their dogs far out into the surf to find better waves, their pooches confidently perched on their boards as they sped through waves that reached 4 or 5 feet tall.

“It’s a pleasure to be surfing with my best friend,” said Cacau’s owner, Ivan Moreira, a former professional surfer who’d flown to California from his home in...

[stars & stripes forever]

Bow Wow Bunga!

[Z28.310]

“FREE DAYS WITH GEORGE”
a very good read

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Is this a great country or what!

[SaveFerris]

If only they had a 12 gauge

[Vaquero]

“Pipit! Pipit!”

[Vaquero]

Ah. Skeet surfin’

[dfwgator]

....and time permitting Frank Sinatra.

[Bullish]

So you can’t see any of this without subscribing?

Pffft!

[SaveFerris]

They need one of the old wooden-sided vehicles

[gloryblaze]

I have an ad blocker, too, but I took a minute to search “surfing dogs” (images) and couldn’t get much better!

[HerrBlucher]

Hodogs!

[Texas Eagle]

Bitchin'.

Don't yell at me! That's what female dogs are called!

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Ford Country Squire

[SE Mom]

Oh my, what an absolutely beautiful automobile!

[SaveFerris]

Ridin’ waves 🌊🌊🌊 and
Blastin’ pigeons 🐦🐦🐦

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Ford built those in its Iron Mountain plant on Michigan's upper peninsula. Ford got the wood
from their own Michigan UP forests, and used the scraps for Henry Ford's Kingsford brand
charcoal.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Pinging Nick.

I had no idea there was a World Dog Surfing Championship! Amazing. Thanks for posting.

[sjmjax]

Same problem here.
Why post links inaccessible to most board members?

[SE Mom]

Wow- great trivia that I did not know! My mom had a 1949 Woody, I think it was dark blue. And whitewalls!