Brazil's 'Surfer Dogs' Prove that Man's Best Friend Can Also Hit the Waves
We all know want happens when you give a dog a bone, but what if you give him a paddle board and tell him to hit the water? Well, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, many canines apparently know how to "hang ten."
While some dogs don life vests, others are thrill-seekers and brave the waters, proving that man's best friend can and should have fun in the water too.
"About a dozen four-legged practitioners of stand-up paddle boarding took to the waves with their human owners off Rio de Janeiro's Barra Beach, practicing for a second annual competition next month in which canine-human teams race around buoys," The Associated Press reports. "Competitors are disqualified if the dog falls into the water."
Event organizer Marco Sarnelli was inspired while he was on his board and sadly his dog was tied up on the beach.
"I said to myself, 'Man he wants to come to the water!' so I put him on the board and he loved it,'' he said.
What types of canines will participate in the adorable event?
"The race on Feb. 16 is expected to draw as many as 50 dogs and their owners, from border collies to golden retrievers to mutts," the AP adds.
Dog lover and stand-up paddle teacher Iracema Braun, who charges just over $100 a month to take dog lovers and their canines out on the waters twice a week, insists it's ''a sport everybody can do. You don't have to be an athlete to do it ... any dog can do it.''
Can all dogs swim?
"I don't think that every dog has an inherent skill. They might all have an idea what to do but some dogs do it much better than others. Some are born to swim," said veterinarian Karl E. Jandrey, who works in the emergency and critical care units at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis in an earlier report.
Beach-loving Brazil paddle board enthusiasts aren't alone in their love for both their pets and the water -- and combining the two.
There are also canine paddle board races in California that "have served as fundraisers for local shelters, and several websites dedicated to the sport include forum sections with readers trading tricks on how to get their dogs hooked on the sport."
So if you happen to be in Brazil or California and hear a dog barking -- the sound may not be coming by land, but by sea!
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