SAN DIEGO—
Sometimes it's the little things holding the elevator for someone, putting spare change in an almost timed-out parking meter or even buying a complete stranger's meal at the drive through that matter most in life.Random acts of kindness will be resonating in San Diego Thursday, April 29 a day that Mayor Jerry Sanders has proclaimed "Paw (Pay) It Forward Day." The worldwide initiative, based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde, rests on the premise that if each person can do one good deed for three others, the benevolence will ripple around the world.
Favors large and small need no thank you or repayment instead, they should simply be "paid forward."
So, why the furry play on words? Ask Ricochet, the charity-raising surfer dog responsible for prompting the proclamation adopted by Sanders.
According to her owner, Judy Fridono, the two-year-old retriever was slated to be a service dog, but had too much interest in birds to continue her training. Rather than release her from the program, Fridono taught her how to surf and together they found her new calling.
Since Ricochet started surfing, Fridono said, she has raised money for everything from toy drives to canine cancer, has gained an impressive 7,000 friends on Facebook and was named an ambassador for PIFD by founder Blake Beattie.
Perhaps her biggest accomplishment, though, is her involvement in the lives of two local boys, Patrick Ivison and Ian McFarland.
Ivison, now 15, was hit by a car at just 14-months-old. Now quadriplegic, he is an adaptive surfer thanks to the more than $10,000 Ricochet helped raise for his physical therapy. McFarland, now six, suffers a brain injury after being involved in a car accident that killed his parents. To date, Ricochet has contributed more than $6,170 in raised funds to help pay for his many therapies.
Ricochet was seen this Paw It Forward Day at the Old Town Transit Center, where she and her surfing coach, Robbie Nelson of Happy Barrels Surf School, gave out coupons for surf lessons and dog biscuits to passersby.
The boys will be paying Ricochet's powerful gifts of life forward by delivering dog biscuits to area shelters.
While Thursday is the official day, Fridono said, the spirit of this concept is something San Diegans should carry with them all the time, even after the sun sets on Paw It Forward Day.
"That's what this day is a reminder," she said. "It's not just a day, it's a lifestyle, and that's Ricochet's lifestyle."
How will you Paw It Forward?
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