Every year the Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego holds a dog surfing fundraiser at Del Mar beach. This year was the 6th annual Surf-A-Thon. The event was scheduled to take place on September 11th but a power outage on the 8th which affected most of southern California caused a sewage spill closing the beaches from La Jolla to Solana Beach. Unfortunately the weather on the new date of the 25th was grey most of the day and a red tide had moved into the area from the north but this didn’t keep the competitors from showing off their surfing skills and having fun. The water was not the an attractive color. If you aren’t familiar with them, red tides are caused by higher than normal blooms of microscopic algae.
Surf-a-Thon Competition
The dog surfing heats are broken up into size classes starting with the small dogs and moving all the way up to x-large dogs. The winners of each heat then surf head to head in one final heat to determine the overall winner.
Small Dogs
Medium and Large Dogs
Large and X-Large Dogs
This year Buddy took the title and became the first inductee to the Surf Dog Hall of Fame.
Great shots Jenny.! My favorite was that big bull dog. Looks like you had lots of fun, maybe not as much as the dogs….Pat :o)
Outstanding surf athletes, those canines… Nice photos as well! 🙂