Take to the waves at the Dog Surfing World Championships.

As the world’s best competitive surfers battle it out at one of California’s most iconic waves, the dog-eat-dog world of U.S. competitive canine surfing put on a showcase nary a few shakes of the tail down the coast, at Del Mar Main Beach, San Diego on the 14th of September. Dogs of all sizes, from Kia the Russell Terrier to Nai the Bernese mountain dog, took part in the finals, taking to the waves on a variety of boards and showing off to the crowds. This year's winner was Buddy, who rode in tandem with his owner to take the crown. "It just doesn't get any greater than San Diego showing its love for dogs and its love for surfing," said Michael Arms, president of the Helen Woodward Animal Centre, which organised the event. "What could be more fun?" Mr Arms estimated that the crowd at the "world's largest dog surfing event" to be nearly 4,000, doubling the attendance numbers for 2008. Next year, the organisation aims to take the contest to a global level with competitors from around the world fighting to become the ultimate boarding pooch. Money raised at the event is used to send staff from the animal centre, in the role of educators, on international trips to other animal shelters and animal rights groups.