Cherie the Surfing French Bulldog Ends Impressive Career Riding the Waves with a Big Win (Exclusive)

The 11-year-old rescue canine recently competed in the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge & Surf Dog Competition in California

Cherie is the canine queen of the surf!

The rescue French bulldog recently won first place in the small dog surfing contest at the 26th Annual Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge & Surf Dog Competition at Huntington Beach, California.

It was a back-to-back win for the 11-year-old canine, who placed first in the same competition in 2022, which made the success even sweeter. The win was significant for Cherie and her owner Dan Nykolayko because it will likely be the dog's last at the Incredible Dog Challenge.

"This is going to be the last year that we compete. So the win at the Incredible Dog Challenge was super special," Nykolayko tells PEOPLE.

Cherie has decided to step back from competitive canine surfing to focus on enjoying her golden years. However, the dog isn't getting out of the water altogether — the pup already has a surf party in the works for her 12th birthday in September.

After adopting Cherie from the French Bulldog Rescue Network in March 2012, Nykolayko "totally stumbled into" surfing with the pup.

The pet parent brought Cherie to a dog beach in California a year after welcoming the Frenchie home to see how the pup would react.

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"She shot down the shore, and there were these two big dogs playing in the water, chasing a ball, and she just went straight in," Nykolayko says.

Cherie's early interest in the beach led her and Nykolayko to dog surfing lessons hosted by the Helen Woodward Animal Center at the Delmar Dog Beach.

Nykolayko admits he initially thought dog surfing sounded like "the dumbest idea I've ever heard" but quickly changed his mind after the first lesson with Cherie.

"We went down there, and it was so much fun that we ended up signing up for all the other classes that particular summer in 2013," he adds.

Over the next two years, Cherie and Nykolayko honed their surfing skills and formed a deep bond.

"Those first couple of years, we really learned, both her and I, how to read each other, and we got much closer. It's like I could tell when it was time to call it a day and just come back in and play in the sand," Nykolayko says.

Related: Therapy Dog Wins Award for Helping Mom Through Childbirth: ‘She Makes Every Day Easier’

Cherie competed in her first Incredible Dog Challenge in 2015, placing third in the small dog surfing competition. Since then, she has participated in numerous competitions, rode countless waves, and raised thousands for animal welfare charities.

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And while Cherie is almost retired from competitive surfing, she and Nykolayko are still looking forward to all the beach days ahead.

"She and I have a great time playing out in the water together, and it brings smiles to people's faces when they get to see it, and we're doing our best to make a little difference in the world," Nykolayko says.

To learn more about the Incredible Dog Challenge and how to watch Cherie's winning surf, visit the competition's website.

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