Staff
The surf was ruff, but Dozer was ready. He shifted his weight and looked around at the competition, his jaw jutting defiantly. When others came close to his surfboard, he barked at them to get away literally. “He doesn’t like it when other people get on his board,” said Doug Hokstad, 46, Dozer’s owner. The 75-pound English bulldog was just one of many canines trying to be top dog at the fourth annual surf-dog competition put on by Loews Coronado Bay Resort yesterday. To lesser dogs, heading into the chilly surf under the gray skies at Imperial Beach might have given them excuse this paws. But not a fierce competitor like Dozer. “He’s a typical bulldog, with a low center of gravity. He just hangs on and refuses to give up,” Hokstad said. “He’s not a water dog, so he’s got the motivation to stay on the board.” Despite Dozer’s tough appearance he was wearing black-and-white-striped shorts that looked like prison garb he’s a relative newcomer to the sport. Last year, he attended the competition purely as a spectator. But when a board washed up on the beach, Dozer jumped on and wouldn’t get off. Read the entier Union Tribune article here.
