SURFDOG RICOCHET

Rina: A Superpower Dog Changing Lives Through Humor & Support

Superpower Dogs, Team Journalist

16 November 2016

Just as Ricochet now helps the lives of many, she was impacted early on by her friend Rina, a fellow Superpower Dog behind the scenes that inspired her purpose of helping people.

Surfdog Ricochet is a Superpower Dog who surfs. As if winning surfing contests isn’t impressive enough, Ricochet’s real mission in life is her work as the world’s only SURFice® dog. She combines a love of surfing with healing superpowers to help human friends in need, with paws-on contact and bonding through the incredible experience of riding waves together. Kids with special needs, people with disabilities, and wounded veterans are some of the many people whose lives have been touched and changed by Ricochet. Ricochet will star in the giant screen adventure film, Superpower Dogs.

Just as Ricochet now helps the lives of many, she was impacted early on by her friend Rina, a fellow Superpower Dog behind the scenes that inspired her purpose of helping people. Rina was more than just an influential role model for Ricochet, she also had amazing abilities to care for and connect with people. Not only did Rina have an essential ‘paw’ in laying the path for Ricochet, but her superpowers also changed life’s course for her human trainer and companion, Judy.

Rina, Judy’s inspiration behind, Ricochet

Photograph by Surf Dog Ricochet’s Facebook Page

As a puppy raiser, Judy first met Rina when Rina was just 8 weeks old and beginning her training to become a service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs. For over a year, Judy worked with Rina on puppy training and socialization skills. When Rina went away to begin her intensive training service dog program, Judy was so inspired by their bond that she decided to go back to school to train service dogs. In a serendipitous turn, Rina was released from the highly selective program and was thus reunited with Judy as her new owner, trainer and personal service dog. The pair then began working with Pawsative Teams, a training organization that awarded Rina her therapy dog certification, and kicked off what would become an amazing 13-year journey of healing, helping people in need, and assisting Judy with her medical needs.

Not only did Rina have an essential ‘paw’ in laying the path for Ricochet, but her superpowers also changed life’s course for her human trainer and companion, Judy.

Over that period, Rina and Judy were an inseparable team that brought love and emotional support to those who needed it most. One Superpower story of Rina was a time when Ricochet was practicing surfing, and her wave died and stalled the surfboard. Rina thought Ricochet was in distress and braved the waves, which she never liked to do, to swim out and save her sister. Then, Ricochet jumped from her surfboard to swim to Rina and they ended up saving each other..

Rina and Ricochet

Photograph by Surf Dog Ricochet Facebook Page

Rina’s superpower of connecting with people as a healer made her an immediate friend to anyone she met, a devoted sister to Ricochet and a lifelong companion for Judy. Rina was known for her light-hearted personality and smile, taking every opportunity to steal the remote, wear shoes and deliver packages from UPS drivers to Judy’s front door. So whether people or dogs, we all need those special individuals in our lives that help inspire us along the way, perhaps even help us discover our own superpowers.