At just two years old, Doc is already making a name for himself across the country.
“He’s a good boy, that’s all I can say,” said Amber Hodge, Doc’s owner.
From the beginning, Hodge knew there was something special about Doc.
“Ever since she started sharing pictures of all their trash, I’ve been in love,” Hodge said.
So as soon as he was found, Hodge traveled from Wayne, Oklahoma to Tulsa to find the Australian shepherd who had stolen her heart.
“I knew I was going to come home with him. She just wanted me to meet him and see if I liked him, and I knew I was going to bring him home, I was going to bring him home,” Hodge said.
Now two years old, Hodge introduced him to dock diving.
“He loves it. He knows exactly what his toy is when we’re ready to go. He has a special toy that we put in the water for him, and as soon as you take that out, he’s ready to go.” Hodge said.
When he’s not diving into the water, he’s diving through his toy basket looking for toys, looking for his favorite squeaky toy.
When Hodge got Doc, the breeder called him Chewy, but when she got home she started calling him Doc.
“Oh, he might be Doc Pauliday. Tombstone is one of my favorite movies, Doc Holliday is my favorite character,” Hodge said.
That’s the origin of the name, but how did Doc become known nationally?
“So my job is covered by insurance,” Hodge said.
She immediately signed up for a policy with her favorite Doc Pauliday, but little did she know that signing up for an insurance document would lead to a very unexpected email.
“He was a finalist in their silly name contest,” Hodge said.
Doc Pauliday wins a nationwide competition for silly dog names.
“I lost my mind, I thought it was so cool. And I thought, people, I know this is really stupid, but it’s exciting news,” Hodge said.
This is the tournament’s first year, and Hodge didn’t expect anything like this. Doc is now popular on social media.
“It has its own Instagram, it has its own TikTok,” Hodge said.
For winning, Doc received a celebrity photo shoot, a spot in a magazine, and a $100 gift card.
“I put them all into Chewy’s gift card so he can get dog toys when he wants them,” Hodge said.
You can follow Doc Pawlliday on his Instagram and TikTok @doc_pawlliday.