Boards, bones and Brodes

It’s Brody’s First Birthday Week! I have some really cool stuff in store for you guys. Stay tuned! And to kick it off, I’m sharing the awesomeness that was the Loews Surf Dog Competition this weekend here in San Diego.

There are few things in this universe more delightful to watch than a happy dog on a surfboard. It’s cute, they are clearly having fun- I mean, who could possibly NOT like that? (Don’t answer that.)

I remember seeing the promotions for the 2009 competition last May, thinking “We should totally go see that,” then being sad because I had another commitment. This was also around the time Emmett was diagnosed with lymphoma. It wasn’t the best timing.

But this year- this year!- I knew we just had to go. We loaded into the car like the Griswolds heading to Wally World- two adults, two kids, two dogs, all the resulting beach gear, one grandma for kid-wrangling, and we were off. I was a little nervous seeing the drizzle hit the windshield on the freeway, but the weather held clear at the beach.

Given the fact that the “Surf Level Red- This Means No Screwing Around, Kids” flag was waving at the beach and the water temperature was similar to that experienced by those on the Titanic, I didn’t sign Brody up for this contest. We were there solely as spectators. I hadn’t gotten a chance to get back to the beach since Brody’s Introductory Surfing Adventure and I wasn’t sure if he would remember the waves, see the boards, and go into traumatic fits or not.

What actually happened was, he saw the waves, got his toe into the water and went into a frenzy of “OMG BEACH WAVES YESYESYESYESYESYES” and nearly dislocated my shoulder trying to run in. So, he likes it. He was probably a little peeved that we had to sit on the beach and watch. If I can get my act together, we will compete next year. He would rock it.

The beach was packed with wall to wall people and dogs angling for a view of the waves, people happy to endure Brody’s sandy nudges and occasional jumps (still working on it, faithfully.) It was a festival of Fidos, a carnivale of canines, a rave of Rovers.

We had a blast. There are a whole lot of pics after the jump.

It was wall to wall people and dogs. All of whom were happy and got along perfectly. Seriously. It was amazing.

It was a little cold, and fairly choppy. Only the seasoned professionals ventured out, for the most part. This brave girl above, Australian kelpie Abbie, won the contest and everyone’s hearts.

And I think most of you know Surf Dog Ricochet, who along with her sister Kalani, won the tandem contest. OK, this isn’t actually Ricochet- I have been informed this is King. I apologize, King. You are still pawesome.

This is a dog named Bobby Gorgeous. Bobby surfs with a camera on his board as well as a surfboard with a huge image of Bobby on the underside. Dog surfing is serious business, y’all.

Most of us just stayed on shore looking cool.

The fashion show was in full force.

A dog carrier with another dog in it. This is about as meta as you can get.

We even had a celebrity judge presiding over the events. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Marmaduke himself:

If you’ve ever wondered how one keeps a Great Dane perched on a tall lifeguard chair for extended periods, here’s your answer:

Treat kabobs.

Brody was very perturbed that he wasn’t turned loose to terrorize the crowds, and had to content himself by digging a hole that wound up a solid foot and a half deep.

He was less than thrilled when I filled it in, but images of a Boston falling in headfirst and breaking his neck was more than enough to keep me there till it was once again flat.

We had so many fantastic pictures from the day, it was near impossible to whittle them down to a few. If you want more to squee over, check out the slideshow on Flickr.