One of California’s most famous surfers has four legs and a tail.
They call her Rippin’ Rosie. She’s a lovable 5-year-old Labrador Retriever with golden fur and almost 340,000 followers on Instagram.
“Everyone knows Rosie!” said local surfer Jeremiah Kille in a great video by DOG PPL (view below).
The legend of Rosie continued to grow two weeks ago, with a new trophy and some shiny medals awarded for her impressive performance at the World Dog Surfing Championships in at Pacifica Beach in California.
Rosie started surfing at just seven months old when she would climb on a stand-up paddleboard with her owner, prosecuting attorney Steve Drottar. Over time, Rosie took on bigger waves, gaining more skills and more confidence. S
ilver-haired Steve has been surfing in Santa Cruz his whole life—and now Rosie joins him 4-5 times a week.
“Here comes some old dude with a stand-up board and a great big cute yellow Lab on the end of the board,” Steve said in the video. “It’s kind of hard for people not to smile.”
“It’s a blast to watch them out there,” Kille said.
At the 10th Annual World Championships near San Francisco, Rosie competed with about 15 other water dogs in categories for small, medium, and large-sized contestants. All of the furry, four-legged entrants were judged on the length of their wave rides, the size of the waves they surfed, and their overall confidence/performance.
A mixed-breed named ‘Bradley Cooper’ won the small dog category, and Iza, a 5-year-old French bulldog, won the prize for medium-size dogs, according to the Associated Press.
Then, Rosie and Steve headed into the water, a place where both feel perfectly at ease. The dynamic duo caught a few waves with hundreds of spectators looking on from the beach.
According to SF Gate, some people in attendance had pictures of Rosie on their T-shirts and hats, and some traveled hundreds of miles to see her her compete.
When it all ended, Rosie won four first place awards. With new medals slung around her neck and a new trophy at her side, Rosie was all smiles in the post-event photo. It’s safe to assume Steve felt the same exact way.
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“What Rosie teaches people is that a dog is more than just being on the couch,” Steve said.
“A dog can be part of your life, part of your adventures, however far you want to take it. Having your dog accomplish something with you develops such an amazing bond…I just hope that I can share some of the joy.”
SEND ROSIE’S STORY SURFING ACROSS THE NET By Sharing It On Social Media…
