Meet the surf therapy dog riding the waves of West Sussex

If you're heading out to surf off the West Sussex coast, don't be too surprised if you find yourself alongside a dog with a bright blue mohawk.

Scooter the poodle cross has been learning to ride the waves after being introduced to the waters of Bracklesham Bay by his surf-loving owner, former Metropolitan Police officer Kirstie Coy-Martin.

Scooter's life started off very differently after he was found wandering the streets of Portugal as a stray by a rescue charity there.

With no space at their rehoming centre, Scooter was likely to be put down had Kirstie not heard his story and decided to adopt him.

Since then, Scooter has been trained as a therapy dog to work with stroke patients and people receiving end of life care at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.

Kirstie told us Scooter is a popular sight on the wards:

"It takes a bit of the stress away from them and provides comfort to those who have been in hospital for a long time, have been missing their own pets, or whose family and friends are a long way away and can't visit them easily.

"Often when we visit we can see there's people sat round beds, that their loved one's seriously ill and unable to communicate with them, and you can as soon as they see Scooter coming onto the ward they sit up, and it's a relief to have something else to talk about and to have a cuddle with him."

Scooter has also provided important support to Kirstie as well, who was diagnosed with PTSD earlier this year after spending 26 years on the frontline, including as part of the Met's child investigation team.

Kirstie first learned about training Scooter as a surf therapy dog after hearing from similar stories from America, where dogs support war veterans going through similar situations.

She told us it took around six months just to get Scooter out into the water:

"I wanted to make sure he felt confident and happy on the board.

"When we did go out for the first time, into a doggy swimming pool, he didn't wait to be put onto the board, he ran straight up to it and jumped onto it because he enjoyed being on it.

"He had loads of swimming lessons, and over a course of about ten months, we got him up to going out on his own on really small waves."

Scooter has just competed in his first international competition, placing fourth in the Global Dog Surfathon Dog Surfing Competition.

The video of Scooter entered into the competition earned more than 1,000 likes from viewers around the world.

He's also gained a big following on Instagram, racking up more than 5,000 followers.

Kirstie said: "We only missed out on a medal by a couple of hundred votes - it's just amazing to have finished fourth in his first competition as the only UK entrant and the only European entrant.

"We entered it really so we can raise awareness for dog surf therapy and what it can do for those with PTSD, especially emergency service workers."