Wet Woofers: Surf Dog Lessons Begin

Your furry tyke can learn how to wave-ride, thanks to the Helen Woodward Animal Center's summer program led by SoCal Surf Dogs.

IF YOU'VE "AWWED"... over the Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon, the annual, end-of-summer fundraiser in Del Mar, you've likely pondered about how, and when, those talented pups first learned to handle a surfboard. Those Goldens and Dalmations don't head out onto the waves with no training; they receive loving and safe instruction, during the summer, via SoCal Surf Dogs and the Helen Woodward Animal Center. That's right, there are surfing lessons available, for your pup, at Dog Beach in Del Mar, as well as stand-up paddle boarding lessons, too. Think your H2O-obsessed hound would be into picking up a few fresh skills? Then mark...

SUNDAY, JUNE 18... on the calendar. That's when the first lesson takes place, at 8:30 in the morning. The $45 class includes safety gear for your woofer, including a life vest, as well as a board or paddleboard, too. And, if all goes well, you'll get 20% off future lessons, down the road a pinch, if your pooch seems to totally take to it. However, if your dog isn't down with the notion of surfing? The organizers understand. "(W)e're more than happy to send them back to dry land for more traditional beach romping," says a representative, so the pressure is not on, in any sense, for your pup to become a star surfer.

BUT IF THEY LOVE IT? Maybe they'll compete in the Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon, which is on Sunday, Sept. 10. It helps out the critter-loving programs at the Helen Woodward Animal Center, as do the class fees. Oh, and as for classes coming up? There are four more to come, with two in July and two in August. Woof woof, to all those pups out there ready to hang ten. Or is it hang twenty? 

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