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Barley Hops and Pugaroo trained hard the week before October 10th, 2009. Barley Hops said, “I’m so excited to get out on the water!
I have been SUPing for about 21 dog-years and I love any chance to get my human out and active; it seems to put a smile on his face.” Pugaroo was a little more nervous, “I’m just a pug! I found a really cool yellow life jacket that will match all the yellow Naish dog shirts everydog is getting, so that helps, but I’ve still got anxiety; I can’t stop licking my paws! I mean it is going to be every dog for itself out there!”
Over at the Naish office, Sugar and Seal had been exchanging competitive banter all week long. Sugar said, “Yeah, Seal thinks she’s got this one in the bowl….she has been taking her owner out on the waves for years. But, I’ve come a long way fast so she better watch her tail!” Needless to say, when the Paddle With A Pooch rolled around, there were all sorts of dogs across Maui planning on taking home the trophy bowls. Seal said, “I’ve seen those engraved dog bowls sitting around the office.
The one with 1st Place on it…that’s going to be mine.” Seal and Sugar, having the inside scoop, were already sporting their participation medals (a.k.a. engraved dog tags) with the signature skull and crossbones on the front.
With all joking aside, Seal said, “We put this thing together to try and help out our friends over at the Boo Boo Zoo (a.k.a. the East Maui Animal Refuge). One of my buddies got hit by a wild six wheeler a while back and the Boo Boo Zoo took him in, gave him food to eat, a place to rest, and helped nurse him back to health. Tragically, he lost his back legs but they created a wheel chair for him, so his front two legs are getting him around just fine now. They have helped out so many animals around Maui, such a great pro-life animal refuge. Anyways, that’s why Sugar and I put our snouts together and decided it was our turn to help them out.” So, Sugar and Seal, with the help of their owners over at Naish International put together the first ever, Naish Paddle With a Pooch. The atmosphere was incredibly uplifting at 8am on Sugar Beach in Kihei, Maui, HI. Seal said rolling her eyes, “I personally think we should have tried harder to find a beach named Seal Beach…but I guess it is as easy to find a beach called Sugar as it is to find a yellow lab…so generic.” By 8:30am the 20 pooches were all registered and itching and scratching to go! They had their owners lined up on the oceans edge and were patiently waiting for the “GO” signal. The singles race kicked off first. A yellow haired human with spots called out on the mic, “Ready…Set…Go!” The loudspeakers blasted any dogs favorite tune, “WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?!”
Paws down, it was an exciting race. The singles race was won by Seal and her human Michi Schweiger by a dog hair! A yellow lab named Miki, and his owner Robin Bolus were in the lead for the majority of the race, out to the buoy, around it and so close to the shore! A wave snuck up behind Miki and knocked his human off the board. Miki hung tight and tried to maneuver his board in alone. It veered in front of Seal and Michi Schweiger, but didn’t stop Seal from gliding to the shore and scoring first place. Barley Hops and his owner Charles Fleck sailed in close behind, and Miki and Robin Bolus ended up 3rd place overall!
 Not to worry, the relay race was up next and the competitive edge had everydogs ears on end. The humans seemed to be having a blast as well, with smiles plastered on their faces and laughter drenching the beaches with more impact than the shore break. The relay kicked off in the same format but this time two dogs would be on a team. The first dog would take his owner out around the buoy and back, and then their partner would take off following the same route.
The relay winners filed in: 1st Place: BARLEY HOPS & FRISKY, Charles Fleck & Brandis Sarich
2nd Place: PUGAROO & MAKANI, Ed Begley & Keri Mehling
3rd Place: SUGAR & LALO, Bernd Roediger & Noa Herrara
. Prizes were given to every participant, and first place in the singles race also won a Naish paddle! Barley Hops said, “Yeah, I won the Naish paddle because Seal works for Naish…but I think I’ll let my best friend Charles Fleck have it, since he puts food on the floor every day.
Sugar summed it up well when she said, “Hey Dawg, it’s all about animals helping animals. The East Maui Animal Refuge was so grateful for what we did, said we were a lifesavor in a economically hard time…but, they are the ones who are literally saving lives every day out of the goodness of their own hearts. We are just trying to follow their example and lend a helping paw.”
(all photos by JDPhotofairy)
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