{"id":12536,"date":"2017-08-07T20:04:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/08\/07\/hang-20-abbie-girl-takes-top-pooch-in-world-dog-surfing-championship\/"},"modified":"2017-08-07T20:04:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T20:04:00","slug":"hang-20-abbie-girl-takes-top-pooch-in-world-dog-surfing-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/hang-20-abbie-girl-takes-top-pooch-in-world-dog-surfing-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Hang 20: Abbie Girl Takes Top Pooch In World Dog Surfing Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laura Klivans<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n In the World Dog Surfing Championships, dogs can compete solo or in tandem with another dog or person.<\/p>\n

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Laura Klivans\/KQED<\/p>\n

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Laura Klivans\/KQED<\/p>\n

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Few things are more delightful than a dog running on the beach. Except, maybe, a dog surfing<\/em> on a beach.<\/p>\n

Dozens of dogs \u2014 and more than 1,000 people \u2014 showed up to the second annual World Dog Surfing Championships Saturday in Pacifica, Calif.<\/p>\n

Dog surfing is relatively new \u2014 the first competition was in San Diego 12 years ago.<\/p>\n

And while the event may seem silly, competitive dog surfing is growing quickly, with contests in Hawaii, Florida, Texas and as far away as Australia.<\/p>\n

Dogs compete solo, just dog and board, or tandem, with either a person or with another dog.<\/p>\n

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World Dog Surfing Championships . Source @arunalejandro ??? I went to the Pacifica dog surfing competition yesterday, and I was not disappointed. Get ready for _lots_ of photos! . @surfdogteddy @derbycalifornia . . . . . #dog #dogs #doggos #dogsofinstagram #dog? #dogsurfing #dogsurfer #pacifica #pacificabeach #lindamar #lindamarbeach #surfing #surf #surfsup #beach #california #californiasummer #waves #surfboardt #goldendoodle #mohawk #manbun #manbunlife #bluehair #bluehairdontcare #costume<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by World Dog Surfing (@worlddogsurfing) on Aug 7, 2017 at 11:27am PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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The dogs are scored by a group of three judges.<\/p>\n

“No. 1 is stay on the board and No. 2 is looking happy,” Sam Stahl, one of the judges explained. “No one wants to see a dog terrified at the end of a surfboard.”<\/p>\n

At the event, an Australian kelpie named Abbie Girl not only stayed on her board, but maneuvered it, too.<\/p>\n

Her board is custom built for a dog \u2014 it’s short and has a bright orange blaze down the bottom with her name on it.<\/p>\n

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World Dog Surfing Championships with @surfdogteddy , @abbiesurfs and @surf_gidget_the_pug . Source @colleen1810 ??? Surf’s pup! #worlddogsurfingchampionships #epicsummer #california #surfingdog #dogsurfing #surfing #surfdog #dogs @visitcalifornia @visitpacifica_ca<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by World Dog Surfing (@worlddogsurfing) on Aug 7, 2017 at 12:24pm PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Michael Uy is her owner. He started surfing with her after he adopted her from a rescue organization. He’d take her to the beach to mellow her out and socialize her.<\/p>\n

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World Dog Surfing Championships . Source @abbiesurfs ??? Chee! 1st in Medium Dogs and 1st Overall in finals @worlddogsurfing #worlddogsurfingchampionships. Great having our SoCal buddies sharing some NorCal waves with us! @gopro @intsoftboards @kklmachine #dogsurfing #DogSurfingChampionships<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by World Dog Surfing (@worlddogsurfing) on Aug 7, 2017 at 12:04pm PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“One time we put her on a surfboard to rest. And she stood up on the board and we thought, well, why don’t we put her on a wave and see what happens, and she just rode it all the way into shore,” Uy said.<\/p>\n