8 unforgettable moments from the Dog Surf Championship 2025

In the first week of August, Northern California became a melting pot of enthusiasm and vigor as people witnessed top-tier surfers walk in. It was no ordinary surfing event, but the biggest dog surfing competition in the world. The 2025 World Dog Surfing Championships kicked off on Saturday, August 2, in Pacifica and featured some amazing pawed talents who competed for the title of top dog. The sheer courage and tenacity of the dogs made the sports competition highly successful, as in its formative years. The paw-thlete’s performances were judged based on confidence, size of waves, and overall style. 

Cacau takes the title

The winner of the main category was Cacau, a chocolate Labrador from Brazil. A defending champion, she clinched the overall Top Dog title for the second time and has been trained by pro surfer Ivan Moreira since she was a pup. Her fearlessness and confidence shone through as Cacau scaled waves as high as 5 feet. On her official Instagram, @familiasurfdog, Cacau stood decked with medals and trophies while her family embraced her with pride. “Two-time world champions! They even tried, but it didn’t work!” the caption teased. 

The first runner-up: Koa

Just behind the top dog, Koa, became the first runner-up and impressed the audience and the judges with her enduring style and skills. She won two categories at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge and brought her expertise to the world championships to win the overall second place. 

Faith wins third place

A 14-year-old Pit Bull, Faith, dominated the surfing competition and bagged third place. Faith, who also works as a senior rescue, won the large-dog category and is considered a pioneer in the world of dog surfing, per Secret Los Angeles. In short, an icon. It’s not just us saying, Sports Illustrated marked Faith as the “Coolest doggo of all time” in 2021. Her extraordinary zeal and performance in the competition have made waves in the surfing community and have made as an admirable figure. Not sure if she has dog fans, but she certainly has a significant human fan base. 

New surfer girl in the pod

This year, a new dog surfer joined the competition. Chia, the Surfing Ewok, who goes by @chiasurf on Instagram, wowed the audience while having the time of her life with dog mom Risa Mara Machuca. The duo arrived at the Northern Californian venue all the way from Mexico. The official page of World Dog Surfing (@worlddogsurfing) shared an appreciation post for Chia fearlessly catching waves at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica. 

Rosie wins solo surfing

Rosie Drottar, a yellow Labrador, took first place in Solo Surfing, Tandem, and Best Wave overall. Her dog parent, Steve Drottar, posted a candid moment of the surfer dog as she lounged in the living room, clueless, while the TV behind her showcased her surfing finesse. “I was never able to make it on ESPN until Rosie showed up with the skills,” Rosie’s pet owner penned in a post (@rippinrosiedog). In an interview, Steve revealed that he and Rosie go surfing four to five times a week in Santa Cruz, per NPR. 

Iza wins her first title

Iza, a 5-year-old French bulldog, clinched the single surfer heat for medium-sized dogs for the first time. Her owner, David Fasoli, was overjoyed by her achievements and shared how her pup got into surfing. Fasoli brought home a surfing board from Costco and taught Iza to balance in the swimming pool. Eventually, the two learned to ride waves despite Fasoli’s disability. "I have a disability — I only have one hand — so a nonsporting human combined with a nonsporting dog breed, we are kind of phenomenal, defying the odds of what people think we're capable of doing," Fasoli said. 

Charlie's surfing obsession

Safe to say, Charlie, a 10-year-old yellow Labrador, is a surfing fanatic and does not wait for his owners to grab the surfboard for him. As reported by the NPR report, the pet owners have to hide their board to prevent Charlie from running to the waves at the slightest opportunity. In the World Dog Surfing Championship, he entered the extra-large single surfer heat and also rode tandem with two other dogs, called 'The Dream Team.'

The honorary surf dog lifeguard

Dr. Meline Joaris serves as the honorary surf dog lifeguard at the World Dog Surfing Championships. She remains on standby to ensure the dog's safety at the surfing events, bringing in expertise from her work at Modern Animal, an LA-based vet company, per the championship's website. 

You can follow @worlddogsurfing on Instagram for more dog surfing competition videos.