Longboarding Labradoodles at Annual Dog Surf-a-thon

Dozer HangsTen

Record numbers of shredding shepherds, long-boarding Lhasa-apso's and well-groomed Groms were drawn to Del Mar Dog beach in San Diego on Sunday for the annual Dog Surf-a-thon to benefit Helen Woodward Animal Center and we here at Muttropolis were there first hand to check it out and soak in the sun and fun.

First launched in 2006 by the animal welfare and education organization Helen Woodward Animal Center, the contest started out as a fun way that pet owners could ride the surf and raise a little money for homeless animals. Today, the Surf-a-thon is considered the "world's largest dog surfing event” -  attendance topped nearly 4,000 this year - and there was no certainly no shortage of people and dog watching at this crazy event!

A shredding Shepherd? Or is that Pyrenees?

Dogs are judged on several criteria - the length of the ride, the size of the wave ridden and their on-board maneuvers. Dogs receive extra points if they surf without their owner, and if they stand on the board rather than lie down.Buddy, a Jack Russell from Newport Beach, CA  took first place, with Ricochet, a.k.a: Rip Curl Ricki in second, and Dozer, a bulldog from San Diego taking third.

Extra cool moment: Ricochet, a.k.a: Rip Curl Ricki, and Patrick Ivison, a fifteen year-old quadriplegic surfer, completing the first known tandem surfing ride between an adaptive surfer and a dog at the event!

Article reprint courtesy of Animal Planet's The Daily Treat with Janet McCulley

Photos courtesy of Dawn Celapino.