Seattle Dog Spot

Today is the first of four days this year that pet bloggers participate in Blog for Change, an event where we write about a cause or event that inspires us and will hopefully inspire others.

I didn’t have much trouble deciding my Blog for Change subject – it’s Ricochet, the SURFice Dog! Ricochet’s mission is“to achieve my highest surfing paw’tential, while acting as an ambassador and living a lifestyle of helping others by pawing it forward while raising awareness and funds for human/animal causes.  My objective is to be the catalyst that motivates and inspires others to focus on the CAN do’s in life while letting go of expectations, accepting others for who they are, and believing anything is possible.”

Last year I read a lot about Ricochet and the huge amount of charitable work she has done, and since Randy and I were going to be near Ricochet’s home in Southern California for the holidays, I emailed Ricochet’s mom Judy Fridono and asked if we could meet them while we were nearby.

As I learned, Judy is extremely generous with her time, and we met her, Ricochet, and Ricochet’s sister Rina for lunch near their home in Escondido, CA. They are all in the picture to the left. Ricochet is on the left.

We quickly learned that Ricochet loves people. She doesn’t wait for formalities when she meets someone new, she just snuggles up next to you and waits for the petting to start. And Rina is a sweet, giving service dog.

Considering that Ricochet and her charitable work is world famous you might be surprised that her first effort to help others was not successful because she failed out of service dog training. But she didn’t give up, and neither did Judy.

Ricochet, Judy, and Rina

Here is a part of Ricochet’s bio, as written by her, on her website:

I was born into the Puppy Prodigies, Neo Natal & Early Learning Program, a 501(c)3 non profit organization that trains puppies to become service dogs for people with disabilities. Part of my neo-natal training included balance and coordination exercises as soon as I could walk!  At 8 weeks of age, I jumped on a boogie board in a kiddie pool, and have been surfing ever since!

As I grew, so did my interest in chasing critters, which is a no-no for service dogs.  So, I had to be released from that position. But since I proved that I could surf pretty well by winning 3rd place at my first surf dog competition, the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, my role was changed to SURFice dog! I’m still able to help people with disabilities… just in a non traditional way! Paw-abunga!

Now, I live a lifestyle of helping others by pawing it forward while raising awareness & funds for human/animal causes. I’ve raised more than $61,210 through my initiative Surfin’ for Paws-abilities. I’m best known for my inspirational video that went viral on YouTube, “From Service dog to SURFice dog”, which has almost 3 million views, and touched the hearts of people all over the world.

This video will give you a better explanation of Judy and Ricochet’s work than I ever could:

Since she started her career of surfing and charitable work, Ricochet has raised almost $62,000 for a number of charitable causes, including Pets for Patriots, Chase Away K9 Cancer, and Surfin’ Santa Paws Toy Drive. She has also raised money to buy equipment for disabled children and pay their rehabilitation expenses.

I’m most impressed by Ricochet’s work with Patrick Iverson, a 15-year old quadriplegic. Ricochet not only helped Patrick learn to surf, but she also raised $10,000 to cover his numerous expenses at Project Walk, a nonprofit intensive physical therapy program that helps people with spinal cord injuries build strength by exercising parts of the body they can’t move or control on their own.

In addition, the Rose Foundation, which is Ricochet’s sponsor, donated another $30,000, which covers 3 years of Patrick’s physical therapy.

Here’s a TV story about Ricochet and Patrick:

I could write for days about all that Rosie has accomplished to help others (and she’s only been doing her charitable work for less than 2 years). But on the first Blog the Change day of 2010, I just want to introduce people to Ricochet and her work and hope they will be as inspired as I was when I first learned of her accomplishments.

And I also want to acknowledge the great work that Judy has done with Ricochet. Judy transformed Ricochet’s failure as a service dog into a fundraising and educational force in less than 2 years. Judy deflects any attention that comes her way by saying “it’s not about me, it’s about Ricochet”, but Ricochet’s work would not exist if not for her.

I hope Judy and Ricochet’s work inspires all of us to overcome failure, figure out our strengths, and use those strengths to help others.

If you’d like to learn more about Ricochet click on the following:

Ricochet’s Website

Ricochet’s Facebook Page

Ricochet’s Twitter Page

Ricochet’s YouTube Page

Paw-Abunga for Patrick