How a French bulldog surfed to movie stardom

ONE sunny morning in 2023, Dale went to a beach in Oahu, Hawaii, to surf 1m-high waves in the Pacific Ocean.

- KYLE MELNICK

To Dale, a French bulldog, it was just another day at the beach. But it became something else entirely: it was the moment Dale made his acting debut.

Dale was filming a scene for the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, which opened at the box office last weekend.

The scene shows Dale at the front of a surfboard for a few seconds, inspiring the character Stitch to surf in the film.

The movie is a remake of the 2002 animated film about a Hawaiian girl, Lilo, who befriends a doglike alien, Stitch.

Before Dale started surfing, he was already adept at paddleboarding and bodyboarding. He picked up surfing for the movie and quickly found his new favorite hobby.

In the past two years, the 6-year-old has loved standing on a blue, 3m-long surfboard with his owner, Greg Dutcher, at a Honolulu surfing spot.

"He gets mad when we take him out of the water," said Julie Eggers, who takes care of Dale with Dutcher, her boyfriend.

After Dutcher bought Dale from a San Diego breeder in the spring of 2019, the French bulldog with a fawn and white coat learned to ride a small skateboard at tennis and basketball courts.