We’ve seen so many videos of shelter dogs who are terrified and shy when they first arrived at the shelter. Some of them would either cower in fear or stare blankly at the wall in their kennel. But with love and care, these scared and shy shelter dogs would transform into sweet, cheerful, and loving pooches!
Now this Border Collie mix named Mia was once a stray dog who was brought into the shelter of the RSPCA in Southport, Queensland Australia. Mia was wearing a collar at that time, and she was also spayed. This indicated that she had an owner. Mia wasn’t microchipped so they had a hard time locating her family. Because of that, Mia ended up staying at the shelter for over 3 months.
Juan Medina, a photographer and surfer living on the Gold Coast of Australia, went to the shelter in search of an active dog to be his companion. When he first saw Mia, he wasn’t sure that she was the dog he was looking for. Mia was shy and quiet, but he took a chance on her. He took Mia and some other dogs for a quick walk at the RSPCA.
Medina then went home. He pondered on which dog he should adopt, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Mia–the shy and quiet one. They had a connection that he couldn’t just shrug off. So two days later, he went back to the shelter to adopt Mia.
Medina loves to surf and when he goes to the beach, he takes Mia with him. Mia usually just sits on his towel at the beach and waits for his dad to finish surfing.
Medina felt sorry for Mia who just sits patiently waiting for him at the beach. So one day, he decided to do something. Medina told The Dodo, “One day waves were pretty small, so I took my longboard to the beach. Mia always waits for me on the shore sitting in a towel while I’m surfing, so I called her and she came, and I put her on the longboard. She was scared the first time. I pushed her in a few waves but she fell off.”
The two didn’t give up. Medina put a lifejacket on Mia and with a few more tries, Mia lost her fear and began to love surfing. Medina told The Dodo, “Now when I take the longboard and her life jacket to go to the beach she goes crazy. She loves the water and loves swimming, and she enjoys being with me all the time.”
And what’s even more amazing is that Mia learned how to bodysurf all on her own. She didn’t need a board to surf, she just uses her body and glides through the waves!
Mia has definitely come out of her shell! From a quiet and shy shelter dog, she has transformed into a happy and adventurous surfer dog!
Watch the video below and see Mia in action!
Mia the surfing dog! from Elizabeth Claire Alberts on Vimeo.
Here’s another video of Mia by The Dodo:
Shelter Dog Was Shy Until She Learned To SurfThis dog was shy when she was adopted, but her dad taught her to surf — and she LOVES it.
Posted by The Dodo on Monday, July 4, 2016
For more photos and videos of her surfing adventures, you can follow her on Instagram!
Toledo, United States.
