The Saltburn surf boarder Collie (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

The Saltburn surf boarder Collie

8:00am Thursday 19th July 2012 in News By Joanna Morris

A SURFING dog is making waves with visitors at one of the region’s beaches.

Collie dog Meg and her surfboard are a regular sight at Saltburn beach where she plays in the waves every day with her owner, Sam Davis.

Surfer Mr Davis, 32, from Saltburn, has had 18-month-old Meg since she was a puppy.

He said: “Meg always follows me and my friends into the sea when we’re surfing, so we decided to teach her how to surf.

“She wasn’t sure at first, but now she’s taking to it just fine. She sits on the front of my board and we get to catch the waves together.”

Meg is currently only tackling small waves, but Mr Davis, who has been surfing for five years, has ordered her a special dog’s life jacket so they can take on bigger waves together in the future.

Surfing is not the only string to Meg’s bow. She has also been trained to perform tricks, which she regularly demonstrates to the crowds on Saltburn beach.

Mr Davis said the dog is nearly at the same standard as Pudsey, the dog who was the 2012 winner of TV show Britain’s Got Talent.

Pudsey, along with his owner, Ashleigh Butler, 17, won £500,000 after wowing the show’s judges with an elaborate display of tricks.

Mr Davis currently has no plans to put Meg forward for a life of potential showbusiness and stardom, and has not given any thought to entering her into competitions, such as the annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition in California, which is in its seventh year and attracted more than 50 dogs and their owners at the last event in June.

Closer to home, last year saw Ireland’s first dog surfing competition take place at Lahinch beach, in County Clare.