pet connection

I swear no fewer than a dozen people have walked up to me and asked if I read the surfing dog piece in this morning’s paper. Now I have. You can, too:

[...T]he real excitement comes when Yeung connects the 71-pound dog to a 7-foot, 2-inch surfboard and heads for the water, as if beckoned by the spirits of Duke Kahanamoku, Mickey Dora and Max the surf dog.

Saint was given to Yeung, a 27-year-old phlebotomist at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, by a co-worker when Yeung’s father was dying of cancer.

Whenever Yeung would take Saint to the beach, he wanted to do whatever she did. So when she and her friends took surfboards into the water, Saint followed, eager to (dog) paddle out.

“He wasn’t afraid at all,” says Yeung, who lives in Atascadero.

Saint’s first few attempts at surfing ended with wipeouts. But those early attempts seemed to give him inspiration to keep trying, and soon he looked more comfortable in the lineup.

Then he got good.

The pictures are awesome. So go.