WILL I BE SAFE

[geauxcruise]

Hello everyone. My name is Louie. I am 12 years old and 12 pounds of love and fluff! I am new to the forum, (and I'm all paws), so please bear with me. I have some concerns and questions and have searched here and on the sister forum, but did not see what I need to know.

My Mom and Dad are preparing to take their cruising dream trip of a lifetime. I heard them say that our "Land" home is under contract and is going to be sold on June 23rd, and then we are getting a new "Floating" home!! In fact, they are out right now looking for a good one. They said our target shove off date is Oct 1st. Plan is to head east from Orange Beach, AL where we live now and work the Florida Coast down to the Keys and then possibly winter over in the Bahamas. Dad says we have no particular agenda, place to be, or a time to be there, and the trip may last up to a year or even longer!!! I cant wait. My dad has been boating his entire life and has owned both inshore and offshore vessels, so I am confident he is a good safe Captain. But this is going to be his first "Live-a-Board" type of vessel. So I have some questions and concerns about me - LOUIE!!!

My parents love to socialize in the marinas, go to nice restaurants, do the night life scenes, visit different places, go shopping, fishing, snorkeling, etc. Sometimes I get to go, but sometimes I cannot go. What should they do with me when I cannot go? Will I be safe on the boat from strangers? I know they will confine me to the Salon area and keep me out of site. I am also not a "Yapper", meaning I do not bark all the time. (I hate it when my friends do that.) Will I be safe alone in Marinas. What about when we are anchored out and they need to take the Dingy and leave me? Should we make friends on neighbor boats so they can watch out for me? What about if we are anchored all alone in a bay or cove? What do other moms and dads do for their little guys like me? Any tips or advice from you experienced moms and dads would be greatly appreciated.

I bet a lot of you guys, (Loopers), have seen me before on the ICW around the Orange Beach/Pensacola waterways. We are always out and about in our beach boat and I like to stand right on the bow. We were the ones who always waived at you and wished it was us living the dream! On the land I am known as, "Louie the Lover". (I have a special Teddy Bear, so you can figure out the lover part!!!). But now, I think I want to be called, "Louie the Cruiser Dog". Thanks for your time guys, and I hope you have great advice for my mom and dad.

[CaptJamesCook]

Welcome aboard Mate

Louie you will be fine but watch out for those 30 day crusies.
Fish not bitting and they run out of rations you may be a taste lunch....

[Kenomac]

Louie,

Have Mom and Dad buy you a life jacket and be sure to wear it, then you'll be safe. We had fellow who looks just like you fall overboard a few years ago. Leo was very lucky that day.

Ken

[Tayana42]

A life jacket with a good strong handle on the back that can be grabbed with a boat hook is a necessity. Our dog, Chester, sometimes stays below by himself when we go ashore. He likes the smaller space of the quarter berth, more den like. No problem. Be sure of good ventilation. Our biggest problem is that he is so well house broken he won't go potty on deck. That means we have to be conscious of passage lengths allowing him to get ashore. I know other people's dog have adjusted to longer passages but not Chester.

[laika]

Tell your owners to see if they can find an inflatable doggy lifevest. They're more comfortable to wear and have the added benefit of being able to fit an automatic AIS MOB beacon, just like those silly humans wear.

[TJ D]

Hi Louie,
Baxter here.

I'm an 11 year old Beagle/Jack Russel mix. I've lived on board with my parents since I was rescued at two. I've sailed with them for over 12,000 coastal and offshore miles, my longest non-stop passage is 9 days, and I've been to 13 countries with them.

Here's the deal on our boat.

I don't have to wear a life jacket, but if it's anything other than motoring in a flat calm, I spend my time on a leash in the cockpit so that there's no way I can fall off.

You'll be just fine in marinas or at anchor by yourself. Just don't bark a lot-this is a sure way to annoy the neighbors.

I've never found anybody to be anything other than nice to me, or at the most indifferent. Except for all the damned paperwork that I hear my owners bitching about, especially since we sailed to Europe (I flew ahead for that trip), I've been safe and a welcome member of the crew.

No worries at all.

Woof,
Baxter

[geauxcruise]

Thanks everyone for your quick replies. And yes, I already have a nice life vest from my other boat life. So I am use to it. Concerning being potty trained, they are working on that. But I am not happy with one thing. They brought me a brand new piece of this Astroturf stuff to potty on. But I think it is used already!!! YUK!!!

[ozsailer]

Hello Louie, for your information only, barrk bark woof roof woof woof, grrrr, growl growl, bark bark, woof bark roof, wag tail, lick face growling, wimper wimper, sorry for the bad news



Seadog
Lagoon 410S2

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Louie.
Say hello to your folks.

[tuffr2]

Hi Louie, my name is Sandini. I fell off a boat in the middle of the night. Lucky my owner heard a splash and woke up. It only took seconds after that for me pulled back into the boat and to be wrapped in a towel and being hugged. Of course I was called 'stupid'.

Not sure why I fell in, that remains a mystery. I have been on the boat a few hundred times w/o falling off.

And just so you know when you try to get back into the boat you will go perpendicular as your paws scratch at the boat. You will not able to stay perpendicular for long or else you may drown.

[Group9]

Welcome aboard! But, if I had a talking dog, I'd be damned if I'd risk having anything happen to him on a boat!

[geauxcruise]

Thanks Tuffr2. I know they will watch over me and do everything possible to make the deck safe for me.

[Nickodemus]

We just returned from spending the winter in the Bahamas on our sailboat with our cat, Hobie. You will be safe from interfering humans, in our experience, if that's what you mean (like, will someone come and steal me). We left Hobie down below when we were off the boat, and he was fine - never got so hot that I was worried that he would be uncomfortable (we left the Bahamas on April 27). Make sure your Mom and Dad get the right paperwork from Nassau so that you are pre-cleared for coming. Not too rigorous for the Bahamas, fortunately. Your biggest concern will be if you get sick. Not every island has a veterinarian - only the major ones, and then even those are sometimes only staffed once a week. New Providence (Nassau) has great vet services (I used Palmdale and they were fabulous) and I literally had to fly Hobie there from Georgetown for help. Georgetown on Great Exuma only has a vet fly in on a Saturday. So if you need any medicine or if your current vet can give you some "just in case" stuff (like Prednisone), then hopefully you will be okay. If not, tell Mom and Dad just to book you a flight pronto! Good luck - you will love the Bahamas - lots of great beaches to run on and no one saying "NO DOGS!!!"

[kalbahnov]

Originally Posted by geauxcruise

Thanks Tuffr2. I know they will watch over me and do everything possible to make the deck safe for me.

well .. everything short of wondering about your safety before they sold the house.

I don't mean to be negative and I'm sure your folks are the loving sort but if I were them, considering your age, I would postpone my trip a few years. In fact I have personally considered my dog's needs in my relocation plans over the years as well as put off ideas like cruising until I was post-dog, which is where I am now.

A few concerns come immediately to mind. One is that the terms "dog rescue sailboat" bring up way too many hits on youtube, and those are just the ones that someone captured on video. Worst nightmare. Rather go overboard myself.

Another is that you're at an age where you're going to start needing more and more medical attention or even, in the worst case, EOL care. Again, not trying to be a downer little buddy - it's just that I've been through it 5 times. It would be a bummer if your folks were so busy enjoying the nightlife that they didn't notice the signs that you're in need, or if they chalked them up to sea sickness.

Maybe if you were a puppy and you had the chance to develop some instincts around such a life - and of course the wait for them would also be a much bigger sacrifice in that case - but at your age I wouldn't risk it.

[zeehag]

bubba daboatkat has been alive on board 12 yrs this august--tried to die only one time while hunting night heron. learned his lesson and doesnot hunt those anymore-- sleeps with his momms where it is safe.
your humans will protect you and you will be fine.