ohmidog!

Last time we checked in on Ricochet, she was riding the waves, teaching the disabled to surf, and raising gobs of money for good causes in the process.

Now Surf Dog Ricochet, as she’s still known, is involved with a program that allows individuals with speech disabilities to communicate with their dogs by using an electronic voice, via an iPad.

Ricochet, who’s also a therapy dog, is shown here reacting to commands given from an  iPad electronic voice through the TouchChat app without any cues from her handler.

The app allows people who have verbal disabilities as a result of Autism, Downs Syndrome, stroke, or other causes to communicate directly with a dog, giving them a sense of independence, self confidence and control.

Ricochet’s working with the Poway Unified School District Transition Program, through the therapy dog organizations she belongs to — Paws’itive Teams

Paws’itive Teams trains service dogs to assist mobility-limited persons in achieving greater independence and, through educational presentations and animal assisted therapy, enhances the lives of persons living in San Diego County.

There are three weeks left to vote in the American Humane Association’s Hero Dogs Contest, a competition aimed at shining a light on the thousands of specially trained dogs giving comfort to people every day.

The American Humane Association and Cesar Canine Cuisine, are honoring the work dogs do in eight different categories — service dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs, therapy dogs, as well as those in law enforcement, the military, and search and rescue.

An eighth, catch-all category will honor an “emerging hero dog.”

Browse through the nominees and you’ll find a few dogs that have been featured on our pages before — including Surf Dog Ricochet and, though he’s no longer in the competition, Miracle Dog Patrick.

Patrick is the dog who survived being tossed down a trash chute and abandoned at a high-rise apartment in Newark, N.J. While his story “is one of heroism in the face of horrific abuse and neglect,” contest officials said, the person who entered him asked that his name be removed to avoid further complications in the continuing controversy over who should have legal custody of the dog.

Looking at the dogs who’ve been entered, we also happened upon an old friend, a Baltimore boxer named Rigby, who was left with his hind legs paralyzed after a bad spinal infection.

“Many people call us the heros for not euthanizing him,” notes his owner. “We respond that Rigby is the true hero for loving life and not letting his disability in any way slow him down.”

Winners in each category will be determined by online voting — you can cast your ballot at herodogawards.org — and the grand prize winner will be selected based on those votes and the decision of a panel of judges.

Judges for the contest include Betty White, Whoopi Goldberg and Victoria Stilwell.

For every online vote, Cesar Canine Cuisine will make a donation to the AHA, with a limit of $200,000.

Voting ends July 31.

Founded in 1877, the American Humane Association is the oldest national organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals. It’s the organization that issues the “No Animals Were Harmed” stamp on film and TV productions.

Winners in each contest category receive $5,000 for the charity they have designated. The grand prize winner receives $10,000 for their specified charity. They also win a trip to Los Angeles for the Hero Dog Awards on October 1st in Hollywood. (AHA officials say a tribute to Patrick is planned as well, even though he’s no longer an official entry.)

The presentation will air on the Hallmark Channel, November 11 at 8 p.m.

Surf dog Ricochet is at it again — recently helping a woman with no arms go surfing off the coast of California.

Ricochet, who we’ve featured here before, was contacted via her Facebook page by Sabine Becker, who asked the question, “Do you think a girl without arms can surf?”

Arrangements were made for Sabine to receive lessons at AmpSurf, an organization that “brings the healing power of the ocean” to veterans and other people with disabilities by offering them an adaptive surfing experience.

Sabine is a survivor of birth defects caused by Thalidomide, a drug withdrawn from the market in 1961.  She was born with no arms, but, as she often says, ”There is more than one way of doing things.”

Ricochet has learned as much herself: Bred to be a service dog, she flunked out of training class because of her tendency to chase birds. Instead, the golden retriever went on to become an accomplished surfer who, with her owner, helps people with disabilities experience the joy of surfing, raising money for charities in the process.

Sabine was originally scheduled to surf with Ricochet last summer. But after driving about 1,000 miles from her home in New Mexico to a surfing clinic in Pismo Beach, she sprained her ankle.

She promised to be back the next year, and she was.

On a cold and dreary day earlier this month, Sabine and Richochet caught more than a few waves.

For more info, please about Richocet, visit www.surfdogricochet.com.