Has anyone had any experience bringing their dog to work with them? Are there any dog feiendly shipping companies who might allow a small well behaved Labrador Retriever to join ship with the second mate? Has anyone been on a dog friendly ship?
I hope you find that ship. Had a dog onboard one vessel. S/F types folks had him for their mascot. Like to sleep on the bridge during the midwatch, right under the helm chair. Had to remember he was there prior to jumping out of the chair. Good companion and a welcome extra set of eyes ears and of course nose as we drifted in some fairly rough areas of S.E. Asia.
Had a Cat once too. It came on board to get out of the cold it think and sailed with us by accident. After screaming and howling for a few weeks she settled in and became our mascot. Took her to a few ports. Had the Vet fix her in Japan and made up a little “passport” for her with her rabies shot card etc…
She finally swallowed the anchor and moved back ashore in Yokohama, just where she boarded a year or so prior.
Well behaved and trained pets make good shipmates. By the way the dog knew how to use the hawse pipe for his daily ritual.
Well ya know everyone thinks we have a dog standing the midnight watch anyways. May as well prove em right.
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Sabine Tankers had black labs on their ships in the late '90s - early 2000s.
I piloted a ship named Luckyman once…had a dog on board named…Lucky. Vessel was anchored in the Bay of Biscay in a heavy fog well off shore when the chief mate heard a funny noise. Looked over the side , and saw a dog pawing at the side of the ship, drowning. They dropped a pilot ladder, grabbed the dog and hoisted him aboard. It was assumed the dog fell off a yacht in the fog and they could not find him again. Thus Lucky started his sailing career. He was a fairly large dog, and had his own chair on the bridge. He hated tugboats. No idea why. Soon as a tug came alongside, he’d haul ass down on deck, barking his head off. He was there a few years, not sure what became of him…
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Any ship I am Master on. I would even accept a cat.
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In 1994, I remember boarding a Croatian vessel, the JURAJ DALMATINAC. She was anchored in the Galveston Ship Channel not too far from Redfish Island. During the night, in the fog, she collided with a sulphur barge, cutting it in half. As we approached by launch, I recall their makeshift fog warning. . . a blast on the ships horn, followed by someone banging on a garbage can lid which then caused the Ship’s dog to bark twice. . . every couple of minutes the pattern was repeated. . . the dog was a Labrador mix, I believe, and was not subject to any Coast Guard piss testing. . . .
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“TED” is that you? Kato sends his regards !!
Yes, yes it is. PM Me.
RedandWhite and Cmakin both super cool stories.
I remember a bulldog named Zydeco that spent four months pacing back and forth across the bridge, always uphill against the roll, and every four hours a new watch would feed him some treats.
Same company, a golden retriever named Ahab, the Captain would only clean the shit when it was dry so there was always dog shit everywhere.
Made me think that grassy fields were a better place for a dog
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