From a timid shelter dog to a body surfing maniac, Mia has come a long way. Photo: Instagram@mia_dog
A few years ago, Juan Medina was looking for a dog, so he headed down to the RSPCA a few times to see if there were any that would be a good fit for him. He wanted an active dog, so when he saw Mia, a border collie cross, he thought she might be the one.
She was timid at first, though, so he wasn’t sure. But there was something about her. “There was a connection with her,” Juan told The Dodo. After taking a few different dogs out for walks, he couldn’t get Mia out of his head. “Two days later, I went back to see if she was still there,” he said. She was, and Juan took her home.
When Mia was first taken to the animal shelter, it was obvious that she was someone’s dog. Although she was wearing a collar and had been spayed, they weren’t able to find her original owners, despite months of trying. For more than three months, Mia called the shelter home. Then Juan came along, and her life got so much better. As well as giving her a loving home, her new dad taught her to surf.
A lifejacket helped Mia feel more comfortable in the water. Photo: Instagram@mia_dog
Originally from Venezuela, Medina moved to Australia almost ten years ago. As many do in Australia, he surfs a lot. He’d bring Mia with him to the beach, where she would wait for him on his towel. But one day when the waves were small, he decided he’d try and get her surfing. She took to it like a duck to water. “She was scared the first time,” Juan remembered. “I pushed her in a few waves, but she fell off.” Then Juan decided he’d put a lifejacket on her, and that clinched it: Mia began to love surfing. “Now when I take the longboard and her life jacket to go to the beach she goes crazy,” Medina says. “She loves the water and loves swimming, and she enjoys being with me all the time.” She enjoys it so much, in fact, that she taught herself to body surf. “She does this all on her own,” Medina said to The Dodo. “I throw a stick into the ocean, and she goes after it, and catches a wave back to shore.”
A much easier way to get back to shore. Photo: Instagram@mia_dog
Now, a few years later, Mia has come a long way from that shy dog at the shelter. “She brings happiness and fun to my life, someone to care about it,” Juan said. “I just want to give her love and a happy life. She is the best dog ever.”
Follow Mia’s adventures on Instagram.
