Santa Paws is Coming to Town

December 22, 2009, 10:45pm PST

(Sumaiya Malik, Good News Gazette) Surfing dog Ricochet stepped into the role of Santa Paws this Christmas following a December toy drive that raised over $3,550 in toy donations for Southern California kids. Ricochet spent the past two days decked out in her Christmas finest delivering toys to CHOC Children’s Hospital and Rady Children’s Hospital. Toys were also delivered to two domestic violence shelters in San Diego.

As a result of the H1N1 virus, hospitals have limited patients’ visitors, which means that only parents are allowed to visit their sick children over the holidays. Ricochet and owner Judy Fridono wanted to do something to help lift spirits during the holiday season and launched the Surfin’ Santa Paws toy drive earlier this month.

Word of Ricochet’s remarkable abilities spread as a result of an inspirational video entitled “From Service Dog to SURFice Dog” which describes Ricochet’s journey from training to be a service dog for people with disabilities and her transition to a surfing dog who recently raised over $10,000 for quadriplegic surfer Patrick Ivison’s physical therapy. The video quickly went viral and has received almost 800,000 views since it was posted to YouTube in mid-November. As a result, cash and toy donations came in from all over the world, including from as far away as New Zealand and Taiwan, enabling Ricochet and Judy to deliver toys for 638 children this Christmas!