Humankind

USA Today

SAN DIEGO -- When Ricochet was born, she was trained to be a service dog. But as time went on, her owner realized that Ricochet had a lot of energy that could not be contained.

Service dogs require incredible restraint, so Ricochet's path to service dog employment came to an end. Her owner assessed other ways the dog could help members of the community and decided that instead of a service dog, she would become a SURFice dog.

You see, Ricochet loves to surf. And she’s really good at it! So now she provides therapy to veterans with PTSD as well as children with disabilities. They learn to surf and actually get on a board with the pup. The process is positive, engaging, and helps to build relationships.

Ricochet has even gone a step further, enlisting others into the service that she provides in a program called “Waves of Empowerment.” Individuals who have previously completed her program have now become volunteers who work with new participants.

The relationship between volunteer and new participant adds an extra layer of therapy for all involved. It fosters trust and gives both individuals a sense of connection to each other as well as the Ricochet-team.

It's one of the many programs that Ricochet spearheads -- including raising money for charity. She recently raised over $500,000 thousand for numerous charities.

Totally gnarly dude!

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