STORY: Hundreds of spectators gathered on Saturday (August 1) in Pacifica, California to watch the annual World Dog Surfing Championships. Several of the contestants are previous winners with prior experience in the water, like 6-year-old Iza, a French bulldog who lives in Pleasanton. This year is Iza’s fifth year competing.

“We surf every, up and down the whole West Coast,” said her owner, David Fasoli. “We do it all summer long. Once a month, all summer long.”

Among the spectators was 28-year-old Allan Liu who just moved to San Jose in April from Toronto, Canada. Liu came to enjoying the beach with his wife and marvel at an experience that to many feels quintessentially California.

“I'm really surprised at how well they're doing,” said Liu. “They have merch, they have all this support system. Everyone's cheering and the energy is great here.”

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: PACIFICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 1, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. FRENCH BULLDOG NAMED IZA SURFING

2. VARIOUS OF CONTESTANT DAVID FASOLI HOLDING IZA

3. FASOLI HELPING IZA IN THE WATER

4. IZA SURFING

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID FASOLI, 57, OWNER OF IZA THE SURF DOG, SAYING:

“Iza’s six years old. Since she's been about seven, six, seven months old, we just went to the beach, around then Covid was happening. So, she learned her way around the ocean. And, right after that, I got a surfboard, put it in the pool. She learned her balance and then I kind of put the two together. And here we are. I didn't wake up at 50 years old one day say ‘I'm going to surf my French bulldog.’ So it kind of organically happened. And now we’re, this is our fifth year.”

6. FASOLI SITTING ON A SURFBOARD WITH IZA

7. IZA RESTING ON THE SURFBOARD

8. PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PHOTOS OF IZA AND FASOLI

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID FASOLI, OWNER OF IZA THE SURF DOG, SAYING:

“So we surf every up and down the whole West Coast from Huntington Beach to Pismo to Santa Cruz to San Diego to Pacifica. Here we are in Pacifica. And, yeah, we do it all summer long once a month, all summer long we're on vacation. So, I mean, what a great what a great thing to do all summer long.”

10. PRESS PHOTOGRAPHING A YELLOW LABRADOR NAMED ROSIE

11. ROSIE LOOKING TOWARD THE CAMERAS

12. STEVE DROTTAR DIRECTING ROSIE FOR PHOTOS

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) STEVE DROTTAR, 62, OWNER OF ROSIE, SAYING:

“Oh my gosh. Well, I mean, surfing is amazing anyways, right? Because you're communing with nature. It's, you've got the solitude, you got the, and then you got the excitement. And then you mix in your best friend, because then you're working together as a team to accomplish something.”

14. DROTTAR TAKING ROSIE AND HER SURFBOARD INTO THE WAVES

15. DROTTAR PUSHING THE SURFBOARD

16. CONTESTANTS ROSIE AND CHARLIE ON SURFBOARDS IN THE WATER

17. WAVES CRASHING ON DROTTAR AND ROSIE

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALLAN LIU, 28, SAN JOSE, CA RESIDENT, SAYING:

“The dog surfing is actually really surprising. And seeing how well they're doing and how well trained they are staying on the surfboards, catching these awesome waves. I'm really surprised at how well they're doing. And all these dogs have, like, signs, they have merch, they have all this support system. Everyone's cheering and the energy is great here. Coming from Canada, I never really expected dogs to surf. We don't really have these, like, big waves or anything. Surfing is not a really big thing. We're from Toronto, Canada. So this is pretty awesome experience.”

19. VARIOUS OF LIU AND HIS WIFE WATCHING THE SURFERS

20. ANNOUNCER SPEAKING TO SPECTATORS

21. VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS PREPARING TROPHIES

22. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IVONNE VERDUZCO, 30, SPECTATOR, SAYING:

“I just think they're so, so talented. These dogs, like, when you see them. I can't even surf. I don't know how they do it. And the waves are really big.”

23. VARIOUS OF SPECTATORS TAKING PICTURES ON THE BEACH

24. DOG NAMED CHARLIE CLIMBING ONTO A SURFBOARD IN THE WATER

25. CHARLIE STANDING ON THE SURFBOARD IN THE WATER

26. CHARLIE SURFING ON A WAVE