((PKG))  RICOCHET, THE SUPPORT DOG   
((Banner:  Surfing and Serving))  
((Reporter/Camera:  Genia Dulot))
((Adapted by:  Philip Alexiou)) 
((Map:  San Diego, California))     
((Main characters:  2 female; 1 male))   
((Sub characters:  1 female; 1 male))   
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))   
Ricochet was trained as a service dog but she was not 
placed because she likes to chase little animals, critters, 
squirrels.  She would not make it as a service dog.  But she 
also surfs.  So, she surfs with people who have disabilities.  
So now I call her ‘a surface dog’.  
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono))
She was eight weeks old.  I had her in a kiddie pool and 
there was a boogie board and I kind of tapped it to invite her 
on it and she climbed on and had really good balance.  So, 
from that I just continued playing around with it.  
((Hunter, Surfer)) 
I lay on the board and she stands behind me. 
((Jacklyn, Hunter’s Mom))   
There's a pusher, you know, another individual that will push 
them into the wave and Ricochet is really good at balancing 
the board for Hunter and in the beginning of his surfing that 
he needed that.  
((Hunter, Surfer)) 
I’m the only one who surfs in the family. 
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono)) 
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))   
There's a lot of trust that goes on with it, a lot of 
empowerment, especially kids with autism that don't get to 
really do anything on their own.  There's usually supervision, 
but when they're in the water with Ricochet,  
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono)) 
they feel in control.  And I always say to them, “thank you for 
teaching my dog how to surf.”  So, they feel like they're the 
ones helping the dog instead.  And it's just such an 
empowering feeling for the child.  
((Staff Sergeant Persons Griffith, San Diego Resident))   
I'm Staff Sergeant Persons Griffith and I'm a PTSD 
awareness advocate. 
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono)) 
((NATS)) 
How was it? 
((Staff Sergeant Persons Griffith, San Diego Resident))  
It's good.  Yes.  Yeah, it's nice having her out there.  It helps.  
When I met Ricochet, that was one of the more significant 
overwhelming moments in my life.  I was having a really hard 
time and so I finally had a breakthrough and I realized how 
PTSD was affecting me.  Ricochet was like a mirror for me.  
You can't hide things from her.  So, she already knows 
exactly what's going on.  And she just kind of reaches into 
your soul and pulls it out in front of you and says, you know, 
brings it to your attention and says, you know, this is what's 
going on.  This is how you really feel.  Let's deal with this. 
Let's accept it.  Let's talk about it. 
((End Courtesy)) 
((Jennifer, San Diego Resident)) 
After I got divorced, I moved down to Carlsbad to live with 
my parents and kind of recover from the divorce and the 
PTSD from the divorce.  And we had physical abuse in that, 
you know, we had like the emotional abuse, all that abuse. 
So, I was kind of broken.  When I met Ricochet, I felt like she 
really was like the glue that put my soul, my soul was broken 
and she put those pieces back together again and helped 
me rebuild my soul and rebuild my, my being.  Sometimes 
she's very assertive as far as like she sticks her nose on 
you.  She, earlier today, she paws at you because she 
knows like okay, you need to just stop.  Look in my eyes, 
relax.  And she just relieves like that stress or anxiety that 
you might have.       
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))  
And what I label Ricochet as is emotional rescue.  So, she 
connects with people instantly and goes very deep into their 
soul with what she can pick up from them.  And then she 
alerts and responds to whatever that emotion is.  It's 
something that is instinctual.  I didn't teach it to her.  So, it's 
been a progression of growth, of me learning more about 
what dogs are capable of.  So, the biggest thing is me 
listening to her.  Ricochet’s the type of dog that needs 
human interaction.  She's 12-and-a-half.  So, I was afraid 
that after two months of not being with people, that she 
would check out and her life would end sooner than it 
should.  So, after two months, I thought a lot and did a lot of 
research and decided that the benefit far outweighs the risk 
to meet with people one-on-one.  We call them house calls 
or curbside comfort.   
((NATS)) 
This is nice.  I see why you’re doing this.  See where you’re 
at.  
((NATS/MUSIC))