Jack, a rescue dog from One Dog at a Time, has become a viral sensation in Cayman because of his love for kitesurfing.
Jack’s owner, David Blumenthal, adopted him when he was just 12 weeks old from the local foster-based dog rescue group, and they have become best friends ever since.
Blumenthal, an active kitesurfer since 2001, told Compass Media that he started taking Jack to the beach as soon as he got him, so he could become accustomed to the ocean.
Blumenthal said that one day while kitesurfing, his wife was on land holding Jack and they noticed his clear interest in what Blumenthal was doing on the water. She decided to release Jack, who chased Blumenthal back and forth along the shore, showing his desire to get close to him.
Blumenthal decided to stop, lay back in the water and allow Jack to swim to him. Jack crawled onto his lap and gave him a look that implied, “Let’s go! Let’s do it!”
“It’s not very easy, but we made it work after a couple [of] attempts, and he seems to like it,” Blumenthal said.
“So now, anytime he sees me picking up the kitesurf gear, or carrying things out to the beach, or even just putting on the clothes for it, then he’ll get all fired up about it.”
The excitement for kitesurfing is something Jack has developed on his own and Blumenthal said he just plays along with it.
“I try to be pretty clear about it, that it’s the dog’s idea to do it like that. I’m not dragging him along against his will to try to get likes,” he said.
“It’s just something that happens because the dog wanted to do it, and I played along, and then we caught it on video.”
Jack, who is now 4 years old, has fallen in love with kitesurfing just as much as his owner and continues to ride the waves with him very often.
Additional reporting by Seaford Russell Jr.
