Monday November 9, 2009
Surfer dog
By SUE MANNING
Service dog dropout becomes surfer dude.
RICOCHET is a service dog dropout. It’s not that she wasn’t dog enough. To the contrary, there was way too much dog in her.
Her undoing? Chasing birds.
Riding high: Quadriplegic Patrick Ivison, 15, and Ricochet, a golden retriever surfing partner, cruising toward shore during a surfing session at the Cardiff State Beach in San Diego. But she’s found redemption in the ocean, surfing to raise money for a quadriplegic teen.
Ricochet, a 19-month-old golden retriever, lives with Judy Fridono in Escondido, about 40km north of San Diego.
The two set out to raise US$7,000 to help Patrick Ivison, a 15-year-old who was just a year old when he was run over by a car.
They exceeded that goal when Ricochet competed in the inaugural Surf City Surf Dog Contest in Huntington Beach, bringing her summer fundraising total to more than US$8,200, Fridono said.
The playful surfer dog came in second in the large dog finals, even with a special bootie she wore after tearing a paw pad while racing around the beach a few days before the contest.
Dog and dog owner hope to eventually help someone else after Ivison.
Ricochet had nearly nine months of service dog training behind her when her bird problem developed at the beach one day. Fridono was brokenhearted.
“I didn’t want her to just become a pet dog,” she said. “So rather than focus on what she couldn’t do, we focused on what she could do. And that was surfing.”
Ricochet had worked with a boogie board in the puppy pool during service dog training and developed remarkable balance. So she was spayed and Rip Curl Ricki – her surfer girl nickname – was born.
She entered her first surfing contest in June, then Fridono set up “Surfin’ for Paws-abilities”, the fundraising drive.
Ivison had been surfing adaptively for about seven years, so it seemed natural that they would meet and team up. He said he couldn’t ride the adaptive surfboard, which is built for two people, without Ricochet.
Special bond: Ivison and Richochet taking a break on the beach after a surfing session. Ivison never surfs alone and Ricochet never leaves his side when they topple. “She acts as that second person. She knows how to balance, too. She leans back and turns the board and it’s pretty cool to watch.”
The two started surfing together in August. During dozens of rides, they have wiped out just a few times, Fridono said.
Ivison never surfs alone – a support team of family and friends keeps him from getting in trouble in the water. And Ricochet never leaves his side when they topple, Fridono said.
“It’s like she was born to surf with him. She just seems to know what to do and where to stand,” Fridono said.
Ivison added: “We aren’t doing any big waves so that helps us out.”
Fridono said she wasn’t sure Ricochet could even surf after hurting her paw, but there was no stopping her.
“The crowd loved it, and the ‘paw-parazzi’ was surrounding them after they left the water,” she said.
While Ricochet and Ivison have developed a special beach bond, Ivison goes home with Kona, a golden Labrador service dog graduate. Kona, a two-year-old male, is still getting to know Ivison and his family – mum Jennifer Kayler, grandparents Bob and Janice Kayler and sister Sam, 12.
Kona will come in even handier soon. Ivison hopes to start driving and will need someone with him constantly.
“It was a dog or my mother. I love my mum but she can’t always be there,” he said.
Ivison’s mum has been there every step of the way, though.
“When I first got injured, they told my mum: ‘He is never going to walk and he probably won’t be able to move, so get ready to take care of him for the rest of his life,’” he said. “I am living proof that a lot of medical books are wrong.”
After four surgeries and years working on his upper body strength, he has some power and even some left hand dexterity. Now he and his therapist work incessantly on leg strength.
“All we do is squats and stretching. The only thing keeping me from walking is that I can’t bear the weight. I have the balance and desire,” he said.
Ivison uses a manual wheelchair because a power chair would detract from his exercise, make him lazy, he said.
“You will never hear me say I can’t do something until I’ve proven by trying that I can’t do it,” Ivison said. “Surfing is the most extreme thing I’ve ever done and taken to the next level. It’s my action sport.”
His goal is to walk across the stage with a walker when he graduates, but he’s thinking of raising the bar even higher.
Fridono is pleased that Ricochet is making a difference, too. No one even blinks these days if she occasionally chases a bird instead of a wave. – AP
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