The surfing French bulldog: Dale's journey to the ‘Lilo & Stitch’ movie
When he's not on a surfboard or paddleboard, Dale enjoys riding on a bodyboard.
Image: Julie Eggers/The Washington Post
ONE sunny morning in 2023, Dale went to a beach in Oahu, Hawaii, to surf three-foot waves in the Pacific Ocean.
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 recently. The scene shows Dale at the front of a surfboard for a few seconds, inspiring the character Stitch to surf in the film.
Dale learned to skateboard a few months after he was born
Image: Greg Dutcher/The Washington Post
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 favourite hobby. In the past two years, the 6-year-old has loved standing on a blue, 11-foot-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.
Dale enjoys surfing with his owner, Greg Dutcher.
Image: The Washington Post
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. He also enjoyed going to the beach, although he was initially scared of the water. Once he went in for the first time, he picked up swimming naturally and didn’t want to leave. He now wears an orange life jacket.
Dale became comfortable standing on Dutcher’s paddleboard and also on a bodyboard to ride the waves. Beachgoers usually pull out their phones for photos and videos when they see Dale in the water. When Dutcher or Eggers take him out of the water, Dale often jumps back in and sometimes hops onto other boards so he can stay longer.
Dale, who weighs 25 pounds, enjoys walks - but only at the beach. When Eggers tries to walk him around her neighbourhood, he stops after a bit and sits on the concrete.
Dale hangs out with his stuffed Stitch doll on a beach in Hawaii.
Image: Greg Dutcher/The Washington Post
In the spring of 2023, Eggers said, she responded to an Instagram post from an animal trainer who was looking for a French bulldog comfortable in the water for a film or TV shoot. Eggers said she thought Dale would be in a commercial.
Dutcher took Dale to a surfing spot in Waikiki, a Honolulu neighbourhood, to meet J. Tyler London, who trains dogs to ride on surfboards and paddleboards. Dale balanced on the surfboard on his first try.
“He’s so fearless,” Eggers said.
Eggers was shocked when she later learned that Dale would be in “Lilo & Stitch.” Dale reminded Eggers of Stitch because he makes similar, gravely, nasally noises, she said. Dale’s owners bought him a stuffed Stitch doll.
In June 2023, Dale and London rode a surfboard together while cameras, boom mics and other equipment recorded them in Oahu, Eggers said. While the production crew needed to film other scenes afterwards, Eggers said, Dale wanted to stay in the ocean.
Dale’s love for surfing blossomed afterwards. He competes in a Honolulu surfing competition - where people surf with their dogs on board - in August with Dutcher, 43.
Last month, when Disney began releasing clips from “Lilo & Stitch” on YouTube, Eggers often checked her phone for updates, hoping to see one that starred Dale. On May 8, she said she gasped when she saw a video of Stitch, sitting on a beach eating sand, watching Dale ride the surfboard with London.
Eggers, 44, showed the footage to Dale, hoping he would recognise himself. Alas, he stood and walked away.
Eggers and Dutcher watched the movie, including Dale’s brief cameo surfing with London, at a local theatre when it came out. It made $145.5 million domestically in its opening weekend.
On Monday, a beachgoer recognised Dale at a Honolulu beach. While Dale doesn’t seem to care about his newfound notoriety, or the several seconds he shows off his surfing skills to the world, he does seem quite happy about the extra time it’s afforded him on the water.
Unbeknownst to Dale, his internet fame has even grown among dog lovers. Dutcher received messages from French bulldog owners who said their dogs were born from the same breeder and on the same day as Dale, meaning they might be related.
When Eggers learned one of Dale’s long-lost sisters is named Lilo, she figured Dale was meant to be in “Lilo & Stitch.”
“It was destiny,” Eggers said.