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

San Francisco Chronicle​

3 days ago

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.
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.
'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 Rio de Janeiro for the event.
Moreira had started training Cacau when the pup was just 3 months old, bringing her on a 12-foot paddleboard with Bono, another dog he owned, until she got used to being out in the waves.
Also among the competitors was Faith, a 14-year-old pit bull. Faith, one of the oldest competitors, was attending her seventh Pacifica surf dog championships.
Her owner, James Wall, found her abandoned in a parking garage around 2012, scared and dirty. Wall had never owned a pit bull but fell in love with her immediately.
When he took her to a beach near their home in Santa Cruz, he saw other beachgoers training their dogs to surf.
'I thought, 'Hey, that would be cool. Let's see what we can do.''
Faith jumped right onto the board.
They started in waist deep water, sending her to the shore on gentle rollers.
Soon, anytime she saw him doing anything beach related, she started 'whimpering, whining, getting excited,' Wall said.
Along the way, Faith became a social media celebrity, with thousands of Instagram followers, and even appeared on 'Good Morning America.'
What delighted Wall the most, he said, was the bond he developed with Faith and the joy watching her change from a scared puppy abandoned in a garage to a 'happy-go-lucky' dog with a zest for life.
'This changed the world for her,' he said.
This year's competition was bittersweet, he said, because it would be Faith's last. She was recently diagnosed with vestibular syndrome, which can make it hard for dogs to balance, and Wall wanted to end her surfing career while she was still happy and strong.
On Saturday, Faith placed first in the large division and third overall.
'I'm sad knowing it's the end, but extremely happy with how she did,' he said as fans oohed and ahhed over Faith. 'She went out like a champ, and she got the last hurrah we were hoping for.'
Iza, the French bulldog, competed in the Pacifica championship for the fourth time, said her owner, David Fasoli.
Iza is an unlikely surfer, Fasoli said. He adopted the Frenchie during the COVID-19 pandemic. With little to do, he frequently took her to the beach.
She loved running in and out of the waves, and later, while boating, he watched as a friend's daughter took the pup tubing.
Fasoli, who works at Costco, decided to see how she'd take to surfing.
He bought a surfboard and gradually taught Iza to get comfortable riding it in his pool, then
returned to the beach, bringing Iza out into the surf, holding the board until a wave caught it.
Soon, Iza was riding small waves into shore.
'To see this 1-year old French bulldog piece it all together, take a little wave in, run to shore, turn around and come back and want to continue to learn … it was a magical moment,' he said. 'I was super proud.'
On Saturday, Iza won the medium division and competed for a shot at the top prize.
For Fasoli, watching his little Frenchie compete alongside veterans such as Cacau and Faith felt particularly poignant.
Here was a French bulldog, the unlikeliest of surfers, defying the odds. Fasoli has spent his life defying his own odds. As a teenager, he maimed his left hand while trying to set off fireworks.
It took Fasoli years to overcome the trauma of that incident, he said, but he found inspiration from watching Iza's evolution.
Recently, he decided it was his turn to try to get on the board.
'Anyone out there who thinks they can't surf, here's a nonsporting dog, and a disabled person, showing you you can do it,' he said. 'My balance is not the best, and I'm not the best surfer, and Iza is not your typical surfer dog, we're just doing our best.'