Community Corner

Champion Surf Dog Backs Gay Marriage: Loses, Gains Facebook Fans

SURFice dog Ricochet publicly stated her support of same-sex marriage and equality Tuesday, a statement fans liked and disliked

So popular is champion surf dog Ricochet that her Facebook page has more than 120,000 fans.

But when the Animal Compassion Award-winning golden retriever and her owner came out for gay marriage this week, some fans put both in the doghouse.

Photos were posted of Ricochet with the Human Rights Campaign’s red and pink equal sign, a logo that has become iconic as the U.S. Supreme Court considers Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.

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“Last I checked, I haven’t found any gay dogs or dog marriages for that matter,” a former fan said. “Time to unlike Ricochet. Sad he’s being used like this.”

Owner Judy Fridono said: “We try to stay away from things like that [controversial issues], but Ricochet believes so much in equality I had to support that because that’s what she’s about.

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“I’ve gotten messages from people telling us they were disappointed, about letting politics enter the page, but it’s not politics. It’s life.”

Ricochet was supposed to have been a service dog for the blind, but she just couldn’t get over a love of chasing birds.

So the golden learned how to surf and became a SURFice dog helping people with disabilities catch waves.

Through her athletic abilities on a surfboard and Facebook page reach, Ricochet and Fridono have helped raise more than $300,000 for more than 100 different charities ranging from animal shelters and kids with cancer to the Wounded Warrior Foundation.

It’s because of her spirit that people and animals should be loved for who they are that the reigning Loews Coronado Bay Surf Dog competition champion dog decided to publicly back gay marriage earlier this week.

Ricochet and her owner believe strongly that people and animals should be allowed to be who they are and be true to themselves.

“Who are we to say someone can’t be married?” Fridono asked. “It’s not about marriage. It’s about equality for everyone. It just so happens that gay marriage is the topic right now.”

Being different is what made Ricochet a champion surf dog and won her an Animal Compassion Award Saturday from the San Diego Humane Society instead of being considered a failure because she isn’t a service dog, she said.

Fridono has heard shouts of support and dissent on her Facebook page.

It’s hard to tell why people left the Facebook page, Fridono said, but more people have come to the site because they support Ricochet’s views.

“It’s not a bad thing,” she said. “I think we got a heck of a lot more people that have liked our page and have an even greater appreciation for what Ricochet stands for: equality.”

Ricochet typically surfs near Cardiff and Del Mar but will be back in Imperial Beach waters June 22 to defend her title in the Loews Coronado Bay Surf Dog Competition.


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