While Massi, a Newfoundland, and Labradors Rambo and Romeo serve as canine lifeguards in Rome, Udaine, a Belgian Shepherd, and Butch, a Labrador cross pointer, serve as sniffer dogs in South Africa as Guri Bosch swims across lakes in Vermont.

The history of dogs competing in the open water goes back at least to Manaia, a Labrador-Irish setter that swam faster than 200 of the 613 human entrants in the 1980 Waikiki Roughwater Swim, completing the 2.4-mile swim in 90 minutes – and probably much, much, much longer than that.

But the dogs of Huntington Beach, California will have their own day in the sun.

Surfing canines will compete this weekend in the Petco Surf City Surf Dog® Competition. All surFURS compete with other dogs in the same weight class. The top three or more dogs in each weight class will advance to finals.

The divisions include Tandem (Owner/Dog or Dog/Dog), Shredders, X-Large Dogs (60+ lbs.), Large Dogs (41–59 lbs.), Medium Dogs (21–40 lbs.), and Small Dogs (20 lbs and under).

Beneficiaries include Barks of Love Animal Rescue, Huntington Dog Beach, French Bulldog Rescue Network, Southern California Bulldog Rescue, Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue and Westie Rescue of Orange County. For more information, visit here.

© 2015 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.