Hot doggin: Crowds descend on Flagler Beach for third-annual Hang 8 Dog Surfing Extravaganza

‘Every year, it grows probably 50 to 100%,’ event organizer Eric Cooley said.

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Flagler Beach Commissioner Eric Cooley said he and former mayor Suzie Johnston started the Hang 8 Dog Surfing Extravaganza on a whim three years ago because their chihuahua, “Wednesday,” likes to surf.

“We’ve been to other dog surf competitions and we said, ‘Why aren’t we doing this in Flagler Beach, because we’re dog friendly,’” Cooley said. “The first year, we didn’t know if we were going to get anybody to come out, and it was a big hit. Everybody loved it.”

The third annual Hang 8 event Saturday, June 8, drew hundreds of humans and canines to Flagler Beach. Dog-friendly vendors lined the boardwalk. Awards for surfing and costumes were handed out on the HT Production Company’s stage.

“Every year, it grows probably 50 to 100%,” Cooley said. “It’s more of everything. We’ve got more vendors, we’ve got more dog contestants and we’ve got a bigger crowd, and they're coming in from further out. They're coming in from out of state. So it’s quite a spectable. It’s cool.”

Wednesday competed in the small-dog category with Pugsley and other dogs. Wednesday was named after an “Addams Family” character. Pugsley was not.

Pugsley is Jessica Kyser’s 2-year-old pug. Kyser and Pugsley and Kyser’s boyfriend (Josh Gunter), brother (Rick Kendrick), sister-in-law (Nicole Kendrick) and son (Colton) traveled from Orange Springs in Marion County to enjoy the spectacle and the surfing. The waves were tiny but the competitors didn’t complain.

Pugsley competes in the American Kennel Club’s Fast CAT 100-yard dash races and has some titles. He had never been on a surfboard until last year and proved to be a natural.

“He just took off,” Gunter said.

Kyser said his balance was better this year.

The vendors all made a donation to participate and the organizers passed 100% of the profits to three charities — the Flagler Humane Society, SMART (Saving Missing Animals Response Team) and K9s for Warriors.

 

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