Surfing With Your Dog

Surfing to aid those who can’t walk. Judy Fridono, owner of Puppy Prodigies which trains therapy dogs, had nearly given up on Ricochet, a 15 month old golden retriever, who seemed not to be cut out to work with people.

On a lark, Fridono entered her in a dog surfing contest; she came in third. “I thought finally. She’s good at something.” Soon after, she paired Ricochet with Patrick Ivison,a paralyzed teen who also loved surfing.  At one point “Ricochet jumped off her board and onto Patrick’s ,” she says. In August 2009 they put on a show and raised $10,000 – plus secured a sponsor for three years of Ivison’s physical therapy. Since then Ricochet has raised ore then $140,000 for various causes, mostly through her Facebook page.

Thanks to the therapy, Ivison now drives and walks with a walker. “She gave me the gift of independence.” says Ivison, 17, “and that’s priceless.”

I love seeing stories like this, dogs are little miracle workers.