Fridono Judy - Ricochet Riding a Wave of Hope with the Dog Who Inspires Millions

Health Communications, Inc.

Deerfield Beach, Florida

www.hcibooks.com

Disclaimer : Some of the names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals
Permission to excerpt the lyrics to Dios Esta Aqu granted by Raul Galaeno.
Copyright 2007 Dios esta aqu. U.S. All rights reserved. www.diosestaaqui.us.

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fridono, Judy.

Ricochet : riding a wave of hope with the dog who inspires millions / Judy Fridono, with Kay Pfaltz.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7573-1772-9 (hardback)

ISBN 0-7573-1772-3 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-7573-1773-6 (epub)

1. Fridono, Judy. 2. Dog ownersUnited StatesBiography. 3. Service dogsUnited StatesBiography. 4. Human-animal relationshipsUnited States. I. Pfaltz, Kay. II. Title.

SF422.82.F75A3 2014

636.73092dc23

[B]

2014013038

2014 Judy Fridono

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190

Cover image of Ricochet Tamandra Michaels
Cover image of boy surfing KillerImage.com
Back cover photo Barbara McKown
Cover design by Larissa Hise Henoch
Interior design and formatting by Lawna Patterson Oldfield
E-Pub created by Dawn Von Strolley Grove

Contents

Foreword by W. Bruce Cameron

Prologue

Introduction

1 The Catalyst

2 Loss and Fear

3 Loss and Fear Interrupted

4 The Birth: The Universe Delivers

5 Que Ser, Ser

6 Expectations: Control Creates Separation

7 Acceptance: Releasing the Spirit

8 The Rebirth: The Splendor of Surrender

9 Goodness Always Prevails

10 Turning Tragedy to Triumph

11 Everything Happens for a Reason

12 Divine Intervention: Protected by Angels

13 Empowerment: Finding a Voice in a Language Left Unspoken

14 Empathy, Intuition, and Communicating from the Heart

15 Service and Self-Sacrifice

16 Sacred Journey

17 The Perfect Wave

About the Author

About Ricochet

About Rina

About the Writer

About the Photographers

Resources

Acknowledgments

Book Club Questions

L ike almost everyone on the planet, I became aware of Ricochet, the surf dog who helps people with special needs, because someone sent me a link to a video. Like everyone, I shook my head in wonderment. How is this even possible?

Ricochet can surf. I cant even surf! And how can a dog look deep into the soul of a person and know just what that person needs and then provide it? This story, Ricochets story, explains it all. You will find yourself astounded.

Of course, dogs consistently amaze us with what they can do. Dogs guide, they rescue, they warn of danger, they detect illness. They bond, they love, they cuddle and comfort. And they do it for one simple reason: to please us .

Around 30,000 years ago, our species forged a partnership with one of our natural enemies. Wolves were our competition for prey animals and most likely also hunted us, so the alliance was not a natural one. But wolves and people are both very social beings, and once the canine/human bond was formed, it proved to be the most successful interspecies partnership in recorded history. And as the relationship evolved, the foundation for it all was clear. Love.

Humans tinkered with dog breeds, creating dachshunds and Dobermans, bulldogs and beagles, shih tzus and spaniels. We put them to work, we took them hunting, we taught them tricks. They put up with all this not, as one might assume, because only humans know where to get fried chicken, but because they love us. Everything they do, they do for us.

That is a dogs purpose: to love humans and give to them without condition.

Ricochets ability to balance on a surfboard is impressive, but as you read her story, youll probably find yourself more enthralled with the way she intuits the needs of the people she meets. In a way, Ricochet is the culmination of 30,000 years of a symbiotic partnership between man and dog. So we should be amazed by her, but not surprised. Because where theres a need, theres a dog. And thats how it should be.

W. Bruce Cameron

author of A Dogs Purpose

September 24, 1995

F ourteen-month-old Patrick Ivison toddled through a parking lot with his mother, Jennifer Kayler. Patrick, a beautiful, vibrant, blond boy, smiled up at his mom with glee. Hed started walking at just ten months, which was a blessing because his mother couldnt afford a car. Struggling financially, Jennifer had recently moved into her parents home while they were stationed in Spain. She was hurrying home to call them, and had just set Patrick on the ground to rest her weary arms.

Up ahead in a parked car, Jennifer noticed a driver gesturing wildly as he argued with a woman in the passenger seat. But she kept walking with Patrick alongside her. Suddenly, without warning, the angry driver threw the car in reverse, screeching backward without looking behind him.

Jennifer scrambled frantically but she wasnt quick enough to grab her son from the lurching mass of metal. The back bumper clipped her son and knocked him down, a rear tire rolling over his little body. In the horrible, surreal moments that followed, an incredulous Jennifer saw her son lying pinned under the car, his blond hair sticking out.

Its impossible , she thought. That cant be Patrick lying there .

But it was.

Frenzied with panic, she ran to the drivers side of the car and tried to lift it with all her might. She was desperate to pull Patrick out, but he was wedgedstuck under a half ton of metal. And it was then when she began shrieking uncontrollably, maniacally, causing people to come running to help when they heard the urgency in her screams. Death hung in the air, and a tiny life hung in the balance. In the desperate chaos that followed, bystanders lifted the car and Jennifer yanked Patrick free.

As she held his limp body in her arms, her relief turned to horror as his lips, then his face, began to turn blue. He lay deathly still, making no sound. Not a cry or a cough. In the blink of an eye, every mothers worst nightmare had become real for Jennifer.

In that terrible moment, she knew her son was gone.

When your life is on course with its purpose, you are your most powerful.

Oprah Winfrey

R icochet would be the first to admit she is not a perfect dog. She digs holes, chases birds, stalks gophers, and climbs up trees after squirrels. She still barks at the garbage truck and has a panic attack if a balloon pops.

And thats okay. We are all a little quirky, broken, strange, or different. Thats what makes us special. Ricochets journey is about what we all want: to be accepted for who we really are. To be encouraged and celebrated for what makes us unique and not chastised for what we can never possibly be. To embrace the notion that we are all imperfectly perfect.