2016 Surf City Surf Dog is a Howling Success!
And just like that another 3-days of doggone fun is over! The Surf City Surf Dog weekend kicked off with an Opening Ceremony and Surf Dog Art Exhibit at Rainwater Gallery in Downtown Huntington Beach on Friday, September 23rd. Featured artists included photographers Dominique Labrecque, Ronen Tivony and Melanie Horn, who is the official photographer for Huntington Dog Beach, Huntington Beach local mixed media artist Kimberley Hansler and another Huntington Beach local, painter Ryan Rustan, whose dog Sugar is a surf dog herself. (She won the Shredder Division the last two years and this year took 2nd place.)
Here are some highlights from the Rainwater Gallery.
Fred’s Huntington Beach donated some chips and salsa and there was beer from Four Sons Brewing. The event also served up some Sessions Sandwiches. Way to keep it local!
You can check out some awesome photos from the event at Rainwater Gallery by Vivienne Tyler Photography here.
On Saturday, the action moved from Huntington Beach to nearby Newport Beach for a mellow stand up paddleboard event, billed SUP with your PUP, at Pirate Coast Paddle Co. at the Newport Dunes. Australian dog behaviorist and surfur Chris De Aboitiz was on hand to give some lessons. He was accompanied by Hobie, a golden retriever rescue he had been training the last few weeks in preparation for the big Surf City Surf Dog competition the next day.
The action on Sunday started at 8 am as organizers, surFURS and spectators watched the waves crash onto shore. A total of 68 surFURS braved ruff waters at Huntington Dog Beach that day for the 8th Annual Unleashed by Petco Surf City Surf Dog competition. The event was part of the Double Dog Dare Series, which offers the best surf dog competitions, and also served as a fundraiser for the following charities: SoCal Golden Retriever Rescue, Huntington Dog Beach, OC SPCA, French Bulldog Rescue, Westie Rescue of OC and Beyond, and Barks of Love.
There were food trucks and a vendor area offering up many dog-friendly products. It was an epic day on the beach with sun, surf and dogs, lots of dogs.
Congratulations to this year’s Surf City Surf Dog Winners!
Shredder ( featuring the more seasoned surf dogs)
Bono, a chocolate Labrador from Brazil, 1st
Sugar, a collier mix from Huntington Beach, CA 2nd
Abbie Girl, an Australian Kelpie, also a Guinness World Record holder, 3rd
Small
Rusty, a miniature pinscher, 1st
Kihei, a dachshund Chihuahua mix, 2nd
Logan, a French bulldog, 3rd
Medium
Giselle 1st
Cherie, a French bulldog, 2nd
Brandy the Pug 3rd
Large
Kalani, a golden retriever, veteran surf dog, who announced that this was her last year surfing, 1st
Parafina, a dog from Brazil, competing in the U.S. for the first time, 2nd
Brody, a labradoodle, 3rd
XL
Rico, an American pitbull terrier, 1st
Sande, a Labrador retriever, 2nd
Lani,a labradoodle, 3rd
Tandem Dog-Dog
Rusty and Giselle 1st
Jedi, Bamboo 2nd
Samson and Delilah 3rd
Tandem Dog-Human
Skyler and Homer 1st
Sir Bakio and Ian 2nd
Kona Kai and Shaun 3rd
Tandem SUP
Bono, chocolate lab, and Ivan Moreira 1st
Hobie, a golden retriever rescue with Chris de Aboitiz from Australia, 2nd
Parafina from Brazil, 3rd
See you all next year. For more information, visit surfdogevents.com Follow and like Surf City Surf Dog on Instagram and Facebook.
