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Surfing dogs dodge big waves before huge crowd at Pacifica’s world championships
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Aug 2, 2025 | John Barned-Smith

Posted on 08/03/2025 11:18:36 AM PDT by 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...

(Excerpt) Read more at sfchronicle.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: dogsurfing; surfingdogs
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1 posted on 08/03/2025 11:18:36 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Bow Wow Bunga!


2 posted on 08/03/2025 11:21:51 AM PDT by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose GOD is the LORD. ~ Psalm 33:12)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“FREE DAYS WITH GEORGE”
a very good read


3 posted on 08/03/2025 11:23:56 AM PDT by Z28.310 (does not comply well with others)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Is this a great country or what!

4 posted on 08/03/2025 11:27:18 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum; dfwgator

If only they had a 12 gauge


5 posted on 08/03/2025 11:28:56 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Pipit! Pipit!”


6 posted on 08/03/2025 11:29:09 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
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To: SaveFerris

Ah. Skeet surfin’


7 posted on 08/03/2025 11:29:42 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
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To: SaveFerris

....and time permitting Frank Sinatra.


8 posted on 08/03/2025 11:38:04 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

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

Pffft!


9 posted on 08/03/2025 11:40:27 AM PDT by Bullish (My tagline ran off with another man, but it's ok---- I wasn't married to it.)
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To: Vaquero; dfwgator

They need one of the old wooden-sided vehicles


10 posted on 08/03/2025 11:44:28 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: Bullish

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


11 posted on 08/03/2025 11:46:06 AM PDT by gloryblaze
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Hodogs!


12 posted on 08/03/2025 11:46:52 AM PDT by HerrBlucher
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Bitchin'.

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

13 posted on 08/03/2025 11:57:56 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: SaveFerris
Ford Country Squire


14 posted on 08/03/2025 11:59:18 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Oh my, what an absolutely beautiful automobile!


15 posted on 08/03/2025 12:02:46 PM PDT by SE Mom (ScreamingEagleMom)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

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


16 posted on 08/03/2025 12:03:12 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: SE Mom
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.

17 posted on 08/03/2025 12:10:12 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum; nickcarraway

Pinging Nick.

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


18 posted on 08/03/2025 12:49:44 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Bullish

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


19 posted on 08/03/2025 1:41:51 PM PDT by sjmjax
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

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


20 posted on 08/03/2025 4:03:26 PM PDT by SE Mom (ScreamingEagleMom)
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