UPDATE: Brand new videos with Richochet and Patrick!
- Golden Ricki
We’ve been following Golden Retriever Richochet ‘Rip Curl Ricki’ and Patrick for a few months now. Today she did a demonstration at the Surf City Surf Dog event in Huntington Beach, surfing tandem with Patrick Ivison, who suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of an accident when he was only 14 months old. Patrick was diagnosed quadriplegic, but he is able to surf using an adaptive surfboard.
Although Patrick has excelled through the years in both school and adaptive sports (adaptive surfing is his specialty), he recently decided that having a service dog would help him achieve greater independence as he approaches his college years. Paws’itive Teams, a local non-profit organization that places service dogs with persons with disabilities, caught wind of Patrick’s story and matched him with a Golden Retriever named Kona.
Patrick also participates in an intense physical therapy program funded through Help Patrick Walk, which helps him build strength by exercising parts of his body he can’t move or control on his own. Since starting his therapy, Patrick has been able to do things he never thought he could.
The costs of training a service dog, and specialized physical therapy are steep, however – that’s where Ricochet’s knack for surfing and fundraising comes in. Hopefully, she was able to raise lots for her pal Patrick today.
I hope Ricki also did well in the competition. Stay tuned as I have yet to hear from her mom, Judy. Here is footage taken from the event today.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
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