A family,
couple, kids, pets
living and cruising
on a boat

> I have been bitten hard by the sailing/cruising bug. It is pulling me
> to a boat, and the desire to stop living my life
> in an office is pushing me
> to the boat. My mom thinks I'm crazy, but
> most other people have been
> supportive and a bit envious.
>
> I think the biggest challenges that the
> boat will pose to the
> relationship [with my girlfriend] are
> the constant living together
> in close quarters, and the conflict with
> her love of gardens and cats.
> We're trying to think of some solution such
> as we get both a house and a boat, and she
> splits her time between house
> and boat. But we have to figure out money,
> marriage, baby, etc.
>
> She likes sailing and she will be good
> at it. I'll encourage her to
> take some classes on her own. Whether
> she'll like living on a boat for
> extended periods is another question.

You're not going to like this one: solution find a girl that wants to sailing more than you do, full of passion, fit, someone who desires the adventure MORE than you do. I know this sounds like Dr. Laura but it is true, what you desire is more than an uphill battle, it will never work. Either you will give up, it is a hard enough path without have an anchor dragging you back. Or you will end up divorced because she isn't going to put up with your never being there and your decision to be downwardly mobile.

You have been used to having a certain income and now you are making a decision that is going to eventually cut your income by 90%. Just isn't worth it any longer.

So is this girl going to be happy with a middle-aged boat bum, who would rather spend his time walking naked on the beach of an island in the Caribbean than at the grindstone ?

You are about to undertake a major shift in lifestyle.

Kids do great on boats; parents sometimes go into debilitating trepidation, but the kids do great.

The closeness, well when it works, it works and when it is doesn't work it is like wearing underwear that is too tight. Tolerable the first quarter hour and by the end of the day absolute torture.

I have this same dilemma with my instructors. We have more captains per square meter here than any place on earth and most of them are qualified. Or should I say, that there is no shortage of qualified Captains. Unfortunately, what is rare, is a Captain/instructor who has the right mix of enthusiasm, energy, knowledge, teaching ability and humor to spend 148 hours as the center of attention to 3 to 6 strangers. For the ones that have the right stuff, teaching is one of the most rewarding, easiest jobs on earth. For those that don't a week is no less than the worst torture that can be suffered.

We go through about 200 resumes to end up with a single instructor at the end of a year.

I absolutely recommend going sailing with a mate, it is more fun, safer, better in all aspects. At the same time if it isn't the right person then it just will NOT work.

Have I failed to amaze you at my propensity for injecting unrequited opinions into situations that are none of my business ?

[Re: On-board conflicts:]

Husband and wife retire and go cruising. Before retirement husband and maybe wife worked. They spend evenings and weekends together but there is always some time apart doing something else. Wife does traditional things like cook and clean. Wife visits friends and grown children regularly.

Now they are on a small boat together 24 hours a day. Husband has new toys to play with (fix, upgrade), is exploring new places and is having fun. Wife is still cooking and cleaning but now the cooking is harder because she has fewer appliances, cannot find the foods she likes, etc. Doing laundry is now a trip to the laundromat instead of downstairs to the machne. Wife misses visits with friends and children.

And, one of the most stressful thing about cruising is anchoring. When anchoring wife and husband are about as far apart as they can be on a boat and they yell at each other to be heard over the engine.

Seen it happen over and over again.

On a personal basis, my wife likes to sail, and spend a weekend aboard, and, is trying to learn to actually sail the boat, rather than spend her time as crew.

However, we are 180 degrees apart when the topic of living aboard (or staying aboard for extended periods of time) comes up. I would, she would not.

Maybe it's a "Hunter / Gatherer" thing. I know that I do not need to save my kids grade school report cards, but she does. I know that I can be somewhat itinerant, she can not. I can live without (traditional) furniture, a lawn, garden, knick knacks around the house from 30 years ago, tons of photographs that we don't look at, but need to save anyway, 25 changes of clothes, etc, etc.

Maybe we need to look at this from the other perspective. We love to sail, and cannot understand why someone would not love it / like it as well. Well, maybe, the other side says ... I cannot understand why those guys can spend every waking moment, and every other dollar on sailing.

Again, maybe women are just different from men (not better, not worse, not anything but different), and one area that manifests itself is in the sailing arena, for whatever reason.

I can add even more to this ... My neighbor two docks down has called today asking if I would like to buy a bigger boat as he is having to sell his boat due to his wife (married two years) is pregnant and does not want to have a child on board. Which is different than when they got married and she was all for living on board and having a family on board, now the rules changed and they are going on shore.

Suggested he rethink the issue carefully as now he is going to be land based and no boat ...

I will add that my last boat was a trawler and I got it from a couple who also had a kid and she also decided that this was not to be for the family and her ultimatum was either the boat or me.

I think that you are right, both genders have different agendas, too bad communication is such that we as guys are not told up front what the real plan is. Maybe this is like I will marry this sailor and then change him.

Took my son cruising at 9 months across the Pacific for 2 years. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything. We had high lifelines and netting all around. I found it a lot easier (and much more rewarding) to be with your child 24 hours/day, and always within 32 feet of you, than in modern society where you have to deal with sitters, daycare, driving, etc. The few occasions when we did want to 'go out' it was hard to find a sitter, but those occasions were rare when we didn't want to bring him along wherever we were going. I was pleasantly surprised how many other boats had children aboard, especially the French/European boats. Beth Leonard's book has a chapter about children, and there are one or two books written specifically about cruising with children ("Babies Aboard" is one).

My son was about 18 months old when we sailed from the Galapagos to the Marquesas ... we were sailing into Fatu Hiva after 22 days at sea, when he climbed on deck, saw land, and started crying - it frightened him! To him, the world was nothing but sea, sky and our little home.

We left with a six week old and had the time of our lives. Our daughter wasn't sick with all the usual kids stuff as there was no one else around to infect her. Babies sleep most of the time and they find that the inside of a yacht is an incredibly stimulating visual environment. A few points to help out. Make sure that your grab bag contains all the baby items such as food, nappies, formula if your wife is not breastfeeding and plenty of water if she is, space blankets to keep the baby warm as well. Set up a good sea berth for the baby that has plenty of protection in the event of a knockdown. Ensure that every thing in the cabin is securely lashed down as what would annoy an adult (like being hit with American Practical Navigator in the head) could easily kill an infant - you can not be too cautious here. Life jackets are hard to come by to fit any child less than 10 kg in body weight. We modified a NZ made Hutchwilco Wee Wilco to fit and found that despite the babies large head size in proportion to the rest of her body, it does actually work to right her. It has a grab handle on the collar as well. Another really important issue is that of your partners sailing qualifications. My wife was not as proficient as me in watch keeping/navigation when we left and this meant rather long spells on watch for me. What can assist though is a RADAR and GPS so that when downstairs, you can keep an eye on what's going on upstairs when your partner is on watch and vice versa. This becomes particularly important if your wife is breastfeeding as no baby will keep to your watch schedule no matter how much you ask them to - this means that you will be spending time off watch at odd hours and could find either one of you up/downstairs at short notice. The best autopilot/vane gear that you can afford will be a godsend as you will be single handed for nearly all of your time at sea. A plastic bicycle seat for infants can be great once the child is able to sit up and gives you somewhere to put the child when docking/doing things that require both of you (in good weather of course). We mounted ours on the front of the steering pedestal (watch out for metal fittings in these seats, the compass is particularly fond of them). Best advice is to slow down your plans and not try and do too much in a short space of time. The mother can be particularly tired at times and welcomes as many days as they can just hanging around on the pick. All in all, I'd highly recommend cruising with kids. You will never regret doing it as it brings your family so much closer together. Be prepared for strange comments from your relatives!!!!

Easier [to start with a six-week-old] than taking a six y.o.

Better you should start out on the boat and avoid the transition I am currently going through with my daughter. We are full-time. Sold the house, left friends and school mates behind, etc. It is not easy, but we are still new at it and hopefully it will get better.

If I had the chance to start with one young enough to not yet be hooked into community, I'd take it. Anywhere from zero to three probably. We also chose to send Sarah to school for three years (Montessori) thinking it would help us with homeschooling. Sometimes I wish we hadn't since now she knows what she's missing!

But whatever you do, I believe in the experience ... it is very good for most kids. The ones we meet are great. Hopefully mine will be too after she has more time to adjust! And maybe Mom will adjust too!

I'm living aboard with wife, 7yo, 5yo and 10mo. It's great. ... On our marina there is another family 3 kids about the same ages, another with one baby 6mo and one with a kid about 2yo. Plus a few more with older kids. Kids learn really fast to be careful on the boat and on the marina. Our 2 older boys go anywhere they please on the marina without us. We don't have to follow them and watch them all the time. They don't wear PFD's. Our baby is standing up, taking the odd step. We are about to put some netting around the fences. I've had to put a couple of small gates like people use on stairs to stop him going up and down steps in the boat. Our younger son has slipped twice getting from the marina onto another boat. Both times he grabbed hold and only got his legs wet. Once he fell in while running in his full Batman costume, hood, cape, boots and all. He bobbed up and had hold of the marina in a second. Someone from another boat hauled him out. Before we lived aboard our older boy, who was then about 3 fell off a marina. We were walking along looking at boats. He fell behind, we looked around and he wasn't there. He bobbed up and grabbed on, and yelled like we'd told him to until we came running back. I think he's safer now we live on a boat and it's a familiar environment than when we just visited on weekends. Also safer than a road.

A great trick I discovered: buy two PFD's. And a kid-size human-shaped stuffed animal. One PFD goes on the stuffed animal, at home, all week long. The kid plays with it -- and puts on the other PFD. On Saturday, it's pretty cool to put a PFD on. And the stuffed toy goes sailing with us too.

We lived aboard our 40' sloop for 12 years; both our children had no other home until they turned into teenagers recently. For three years we cruised the Pacific and for another three we sailed the inside passage to Alaska several times. The rest of the time we were based in the NW and lived aboard and sailed regularly. These years were wonderful for us and the children. Home Schooling was a challenge at times but worth every bit of effort we put into it. How to kid proof your boat? If you prepare the yacht for offshore sailing then you will make it kid proof for the most part. Netting on the life lines will give you added comfort although they will reach an age where that will not stop them. We always, I repeat, always had our kids in life jackets when on deck or even walking the dock when they were young. Yes, they did fall in at least once. We would fit the life jackets well and take them to the pool and see how the jacket worked. You will be surprised to find out that most life jackets for kids under five or six do not keep the head up. We would cut and patch the flotation until the life jacket worked properly.

...

On our last cruise across the Pacific we went on a less traveled route which was wonderful but did not provide as many other kids for our two to play with. If I were to do it again I would take the milk run where more yachties with kids will be found.

[Re: What toys to bring for young kids ?]

• Musical instruments.
  
  
• ... Plenty of books, containers for shells, craft stuff. The world becomes their toybox! Plenty of cruising kids but you have to look for them. The bonds that they will make with the other cruising kids is special. ...
  
  
• A game called "Wordspin".
  
  
• Craft materials and hot glue gun (this is extremely important since waiting for glue to dry is a total drag for kids).

[Re: What toys to bring for kids ?]

We have cruised with our two children since they were 4 and 6 respectively (now 10 and 12). When they were younger we could not have enough crayons and paper/coloring books aboard. Elmer's glue and popsickle sticks for making all kinds of things (houses, boats, castles, etc) was also popular. A servicable wooden sword and pirate hat for my son (I had one too, and we'd do the Erol Flynn routine on deck - a popular spectator sport for nearby cruisers).

As they got older it was books and more books. We couldn't keep enough aboard. A fun family board game we never tired of was "Sorry." One toy I wish we hadn't brought on our last cruise (8 months in Bahamas) was Gameboy. My son was glued to it for the duration of the cruise. It was a common grievance among other cruising parents.

The best source of entertainment for your kids will be other kids, and you will find yourself cruising with other kids' boats to places where there are other kids. It is a wonderful experience. Enjoy.

PFDs start at 20 to 30 pounds which is about when they start walking. Until then we found our car seat to be really useful. We never used a bassinet or cradle, just put pillows or towels around baby as they don't move around much until they start crawling. No need for anything gimbled as babies love rocking, the more the better as they find motion very soothing. Remember the commercial when they had to drive around to get baby to sleep? Well a sailboat's motion is even better.

[For baby] we have a sea berth beside the engine room which is approx 2' X 6' and I installed a lee cloth with snaps, works great and babies love the engine noise for some reason.

I can tell you that netting on your lifelines adds a whole lot of emotional security as well. And if you have jacklines a harness works great.

By the way babies are natural water enthusiasts, just watch out for they tend to want to step off the dock right into the ocean as they can't conceive any dangers. It is a good idea to allow lots of supervised freedom on the docks (PFD of course) after about 1-2 years old and baby might fall in but no worries this just helps them establish their own boundaries.

Do you intend to leave the boat while you travel inland to experience more of the culture ? Pets frequently are not welcome in hotels and restaurants. Who will take care of Buster while you explore the ancient ruins ... ? Like us, do you want to cruise six months and live in the USA during hurricane season ? Bringing a pet back and forth requires special vaccinations, airline hassles, in addition to stress on the animal. And we haven't taken into consideration daily living, taking the dog ashore, getting adequate exercise, and how well they deal with heat in the tropics.

... If you're talking extended cruising ... dogs are a pain in the butt to the owner and have a hard life aboard. Other countries don't like you bringing pets ashore and have stiff fines against it. Others will make you quarantine the dog the day you hit port. Being cooped up on a small boat for a long time is mean to an active animal. If long-term cruising is what you are planning, and you really care for the dog, place him with someone who will take proper care of him. ...

Take the dog, who will have a great time! Ours is a 100-lb black Lab. Age 5 first time we took him sailing and he adjusted just fine. He is "klutzy" (some dogs are ballerinas and can balance on the gunnel of a dink) so we use an inflatable. He is big/strong enough to jump from the inflatable to the deck. He wears a harness, so if his jump is a tad incomplete, the person on deck just hauls on the harness to give him a little assistance on getting the rear end up and over.

Six months before he came aboard, we started training him to "go" on command. Morning and night, each and every time, we said "Max, go to the bathroom." Once on the boat, he remembered and understood the command. If we're near shore, he will look longingly at the grass, trees, and shrubs - but eventually he will go on the boat. We carry small scented trash bags to keep his poop in until we can get ashore or far enough out to get rid of it. We use a bucket to wash the pee overboard; we use a bucket to wash all the Lab hair overboard too.

If the weather looks iffy, get the dog below early. It is not easy for ours to handle the 5 steps down to the cabin when the boat is rocking and rolling. He has his own blanket sort of under the v-berth so he can lodge himself into a spot in rough weather.

When we're ashore we are morally obligated to take him for a good run. If we can't get ashore, he swims for exercise. He's happy and we love having him with us. Ours is a 36' ketch.

Train your K-9 crew member to 'go' on a piece of indoor-outdoor carpeting. Of course in advance you have installed a grommet in it. Then, once it is soiled, just throw it over the side, and voila! It's clean again.

If you have the room for it, put in a lawn. Put down sheets of plastic, and then a couple yards of sod from a nursery. If it's near the edge of the deck, just wash waste off. Throw the sod and plastic away at the end of the trip.

> ... We would like to have a cat onboard. ...

I can address your questions as we have been living with two cats on board for 6 years now, albeit in marinas in Southern California. Life underway will be a different story.

> 1. Should we start with a kitten and then it will only know life onboard?

Our cats were 4 years old when we moved aboard having lived in a house with a yard previously. Yes there was some adjustment for them but they adapted. We don't let them roam the docks but keep them tethered. They do sometimes escape but come running back when I yell at them. They also swim well we found out. We use rabbit/cat harnesses with light line tethers rather than collars so they don't strangle when they get tangled up. This also provides a handy grip away from flailing claws when retrieving them from the water. You can also get a boat hook through the harness.

> 2. Where do you keep the kitty litter?
> There is only so much space and odour might be a problem.

The litter hides in a covered, plastic litter box in the shower/head (we shower ashore). It gets tracked all over the place so we keep a small rechargeable vacuum handy (dustbuster type). There is a product called Litter Liners that is sort of a diaper for the cat box that works great. They are hard to find (Ralphs in our area is the only place) but simplify dumping the litter as the box never gets wet or dirty. Changing the box twice a week with two cats using is about right for us. With one cat or a kitten you could go longer. The clumping sand type litter is a disaster on board. At least the normal litter can be seen and dealt with and doesn't grind into the cabin sole too badly.

> 3. What about food? Dry or canned (considering we won't
> be near stores in many areas of Bahamas).

For food we use Iams for the less active cat (blue bag). They have been eating it for 6 years now and don't complain. It hasn't caused any urinary tract problems (like the store bought stuff does). It also seems to have less odor when processed and deposited in the litter box.

> 4. Any entry/quarantine problems - we are presently living in Canada.

We brought our cats over from Europe and had no entry or quarantine problems. No one asked to see their medical records which we went to some expense to have up to date.

> 5. Safety precautions - netting, rough weather etc.

When underway we keep them below so they don't go over the side. They get seasick at times, so when it is rough we lock them up in the head with a rug or blanket to cling to so they can make a mess in a confined space that is easy to clean up.

... It is nice to have a pet on board even though it complicates life in an already cramped space.

After 18 years of living aboard with a couple of cats, perhaps I can help a bit. Yes, start with a kitten. Walk it around the boat and dip its paws in the water so it realizes what's out there (sometimes when the water is glassy calm they think it's a solid floor!). Also, restrict it to the boat for the first several months so it really realizes where 'home' is. Once you start letting it outside, hang a towel or a scrap of carpet over the side and into the water so it can climb up if it falls in.

Leave the litter box in the cockpit in fair weather to help the problem of bad odors, and otherwise just clean it daily!

Dry food is best: easier to store, less inclination for the cat to want people-food, no rusting wet-food cans, etc. Also, if you go away for a few days you can leave a couple of bowls of dry food, where with wet-food it would spoil rather quickly.

Also: in strange ports cats can easily get lost on the docks. With my kittens, starting at the very beginning I repeated the word "dinner!" loudly every single time I fed them. Then in strange ports, if they wandered off I could stand on deck and yell "dinner!" and they'd come running!!!!!!!! Ah, good old Pavlovian training! ...

...

A couple of other thoughts:
#1: it's easy on a sailboat to leave a small porthole open so the cat can get in and out.
#2: cats get seasick pretty easily, so if you see its eyelids starting to droop, watch out -- it's about to go puke in your topsiders!
#3: there are animal-sized life preservers you should use at sea.

A cat story I'll never forget is the time I was cruising in the Rosario Islands off Cartagena, Columbia. We were at anchor with a sunshade over the cockpit, which the cat loved to sit on top of. The wind got up over 30 knots and the sunshade was flapping pretty good, sending the cat airborne. Absolutely hilarious (if a bit scary) watching him fly 4 or 5 feet up in the air and then landing again -- he seemed to love the game!

Cats do very well on boats. However, the best boat cats are normally brought on board as young as possible as they are less likely to know what they are missing by prowling ashore. By this I mean boats that rarely come to a dock.

If you are going to be staying at marinas or bring a cat from home, it will be entirely up to the cat whether it stays aboard. Once taken to sea, the cat may decide 'never again' and leave the premises as soon as it sees you stowing things for sea.

For the most part though they tend to stay around their 'home'. I've had three cats over the years and they are great company once they get you trained.

There are various ways of handling their 'litter' problems ...

Oh yes, we have a cat on board. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself. How big is your boat, how big will the cat get, how old is the cat, is the cat long or short-haired (this is important because of all the filters that get clogged with cat hair), is the cat accustomed to sailing/motoring?

We moved aboard our Morgan 32 four years ago when Fela (our Calico) was 3 years old. She had never been on a boat. She is a big cat (appx 15 pounds dry) so she needs a big cat box. We finally bought one of those with a top on it and put it in the cockpit while we are at dock. Seems to be working out pretty good right now because we are always at dock (full-time job).

She does okay normally except when we run the engine. All we have to do is reach for the key and she makes a bee-line for the v-berth and won't come out for a couple of hours afterward.

You are right, cats can swim and pretty good. One night when she decided to go roaming and fell in she swam about 100 yards or so to the boat ramp. She was not in too good condition when a neighbor found her but she survived. This was just the last time she fell overboard. The thing you have to think about is how to get her back on board if you are at anchor. Net does not work with Fela, she just jumps out of it. Just have to grab her by the nape of the neck, if you can reach her.

We do love our cat but wish she had shorter hair, wasn't sooooo big and we had a bigger boat. Good luck with yours.

We have 2 golden retreivers and a cat (she is a rag doll) aboard audraseaventure and the boys (the dogs) love the boat but they are happy as long as they get to go anywhere. They lay up under the dodger and sleep till I bring out the ball. As for the cat (sophia) she has been the boat since the day that we brought her home from the cattery. Tn fact the day we bought her we stopped at the boat and took her inside to see what she thought. She's been on board ever since, she's a good traveler she goes snow skiing with when we go to mountain. The issue of the litter box we put it in the rear head because that's where her box is at home. We put strips of carpet around the two masts on audraseaventure and these are the scratching post and she has full run of the boat and when we are sailing in moderate winds we always have a leash on her and from day one she has had a cat harness on and wears it all the time at home on the boat or in the camper, she doesn't seam to mind. She will sit out on the bow pulpit and watch the ducks swim under her or when we are coming into the dock she will sit out there and check everyone out. On the 462 she has a full toy box full of her favorite toys and she chases the balls and fuzzy play mice up and down the hallway. She's a real delight to have aboard and she keeps you entertained.

When she got old enough we took her to the back of the boat and had my wife's brother swim out from the boat and call her and then we kind of gave her a little push and she found out what water was and then she swam back to the boat and she has only had to have one more flying/swim lesson. We can walk away from the boat at the dock and she just walks the decks and watches everybody on the docks.

Starting from a kitten is always better then starting later in life. The rag doll breed is a super cat and very adaptable and that is why we bought her in the first place.

Well, so much for the rattling on but we don't have kids and they are our kids.

We have been living aboard with a cat for about 1 year, and he has adapted very well. He is the dock mascot, and everyone seems to like him ... even non-cat people. I qualified in the "non-cat person category" until we got this cat. Always had dogs before living on land, now I believe cats are probably better suited for living aboard a sailboat than say a dog simply because of their dexterity. I would imagine a dog would have more trouble going up and down the companionway ladder. Also the dog has to go out everyday to do his business, we have left our cat alone aboard for up to 4 days, however someone on the dock always volunteers to visit with him. His litter box is in the forward head and he uses it consistently, no accidents! He has fallen into the water 3 times, luckily we were topside when he went in and we fished him out. He did however swim like an olympic swimmer. I recently purchased a system called the "turtle". It is designed for small children who may fall into a swimming pool by accident. It has a small remote sensor (about the size of a wristwatch face) that attaches to his collar. There is a base station located in the boat (12v or 110v) that sounds and looks something like a smoke detector alarm if activated. Upon immediate submersion of the sensor it activates the base. It seems to have about a 250 ft. range (I tested it when we got it). However since we've gotten the system he hasn't gone in. Figures. Hope we won't need it.

He is a great companion, and with him and my wife aboard there is NEVER a dull moment.

We are glad to have him; and our only concern now is when we begin our cruising, what hurdles we will have with foreign customs and regulations for pets.

I have learned that many times, animals are much more adaptable than people. Try taking your cat aboard for short period at first to allow it to get used to the new environment; if you are patient, your cat will surprise you.

My cat is a 15-pounder. She's 11, and has been with me through thick and thin. I took her aboard my old 35-foot Pearson and she was fine, as long as I was aboard. I kept her on a leash while underway for the few times she wanted to be topside, and when at anchor, she was longing for shore. She didn't mind the engine so much, but when I was docked, she would usually find her way off, even if to sit on the dock. When I would come back to the boat at dock, there she would sit like the princess she is on the foredeck, waiting for supper. (Might explain why she's so big!)

I have friends who keep a section of carpet draped over the side of their boat for their cat to climb back aboard. I would suspect one of them had to be in the water when the other person literally threw the cat overboard, so the person in the water could encourage the cat to go for the carpet.

Litter boxes: Great in cockpit with full cover, or bimini/enclosure. On my new Morgan, I will give her the forward head for her box (I will take the aft head as my own) until I get the bimini arrangement worked out (have to make dodgers), but as long as we are at dock (still working, will be for sometime), she will get off the boat I am sure.

... I have trained our cat to NEVER get off the boat. Did this by dunking her as a kitten the two times she did. She doesn't even LOOK at the dock. I've met too many people who have had to sail on and leave their pet behind to God knows what peril. Also, she stays down below when we are underway, unless it is very light going, and then she stays in the cockpit with a tether.

In rough seas, she crawls under the bedding in the quarter berth and snoozes.

Have the cat neutered, but do not de-claw it. He or she may need them to hang on.

...

One concern is vet care. Vets appear to be hard to come by in some places. Some vet should put together a Vet-Sea-Pak along the lines of the Medical-Sea-Paks for humans.

The book we keep aboard is "Dog Owner's HOME Veterinary Handbook" by Carlson and Giffin. Cost $25. Macmillan Publishing Company.

...

... in boat training him, I put a leash on him and walked him to the foredeck, all of the while asking him to pee-poop, or your dogs favorite phrase. He wouldn't go at all for the first two days, then finally couldn't hold it any longer and pee-pee all over a boat cushion. We never scolded him for doing his thing, only reward him with a dog biscuit. I walked him about 10 times a day to start with. Now, he goes in the same spot on the foredeck, and he walks himself. He will not go on the boat if we are at a dock, but never has a problem at anchor.

Claymore, our dog, gets very nervous for the first few hours each day, but does not get seasick. I use two leashes and tether him in one corner of the cockpit. He seems to feel more secure, and he isn't apt to get under foot at critical times. The two tethers are at a 90 degree angle. He doesn't eat or drink water in the morning, he eats and drinks the moment the anchor is down. I sometimes give him a few saltine crackers if the water is rough.

I don't encourage Claymore to jump into the water from the boat for three reasons:
(1) he could decide to jump in at a VERY bad time and we might not be able to recover him
(2) little animals make great shark and alligator bait
(3) little dogs are not strong swimmers and tire very quickly.
I do let him swim and dive for sticks once we are on a beach and we can get him out of the water if trouble approaches.

I keep a life jacket on him when we are underway.

Dog biscuits and dog food sometimes get bugs in them if kept for a long time. We put the food/biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake them until the critters are dead. The dog doesn't know the difference. We cruise for 4 to 6 months a year and can't always find dog food and biscuits in the islands.

Heartworm medication and flea preventatives should be a monthly treatment. Mosquitoes can carry heartworms, and fleas ingested can cause tapeworms. ...

If you're going offshore with a dog or cat, you'll need to educate yourself and prepare for their emergency first aid, just like you do for human crew. A severely seasick and dehydrated dog can die between the Chesapeake and Bermuda, if you don't know how to successfully rehydrate them while at sea (hint: it's NOT done in the same way you hydrate a human). You should invest in some hands-on time with your vet to discuss techniques, have them demonstrated, and buy emergency supplies for the animal. Your vet can also advise you on doses of common human medicines that help animals and when to use them, as well as those which will kill your animal.

You should also have a good reference manual. We've got "The First Aid Companion for Dogs and Cats", by Amy Shojai. It was the pick of a bad lot, particularly since every section ends in the admonition to get to your vet as soon as possible -- pretty useless when help is three days away in any direction. I hear that there is a good emergency first aid guide out for rescue dog handlers, but I haven't seen it yet.

Your dog should also have a custom-made harness, just like the crew. We adapted a commercially-sewn harness for Scruffy, replacing the plastic closures by sewing on SS D-rings and SS closures and adding a between-the-legs strap so that he'd tow on his back and head up without slipping out. He had two tethers, one a bit longer for the cockpit, the other for trips forward.

Because dogs are not built like people, it's tough for them to get comfortable in a seaway, so we also made him a custom non-skid bean bag. We took a fabric placemat with that rubber non-skid on the back, attached a top of cotton twill, and sewed in a 5 or 10 lb bag of rice (don't open the bag). This would give Scruffy something to lean against while underway that wouldn't slide around too much. We frequently used it as a kind of wedge to keep him in one place while he slept.

Still, all in all, he was miserable at sea for days at a time and, as I said before, we'll fly the dogs home and then come back for the boat when we leave Puerto Rico.

I am a dog lover and I am a sailor. I have a boat large enough for my 80 pound Golden Retriever but for the very reasons you mention [toilet arrangements, in/out of dinghy, up/down companionway stairs, scared by thunder], I just don't think a dog on a boat is a good idea. In particular, on a sail boat, a dog can get in the way and will have trouble orienting themselves when the boat heels and when the boat changes tack. ... Less of a concern on a power boat. Unless you have an exceptionally large, stable craft, I think your dog will probably appreciate being left on shore. ... Dogs also can fall overboard, and although they can swim naturally, pose a threat to all onboard who attempt to rescue them, may not be seen by other boaters and run over and, all things considered, unless kept in a confined space below are more trouble than they're worth.

> My wife and I have two Golden Retrievers, and a small cruising sailboat.
> We'd like to take the dogs along, so we're looking for solutions to some
> anticipated sticking points: 1) How can we help them be more sure-footed
> and secure as they move around on a tilting, pitching deck (does anyone sell
> boat shoes for dogs -- which would keep them from scratching up the
> brightwork, too)? 2) Does anyone know any tricks for transferring them
> between the boat and a tender (inflatable, or regular dinghy)? There's
> quite a height difference. 3) What additional issues are going to
> require creative solutions?

Don't know about 1. My dogs are pretty sure-footed but when the deck is tilting and pitching, they are confined to either the cockpit or below. I do have netting around most of the boat from the lifelines to the toe rail. 2, I just sort of "help" them up the boarding ladder to get aboard. Getting into the dinghy is more like having them jump into my arms and lowering them not so gently. I have two dogs that weigh about 70lbs each and my stern is at about chest level when I'm standing up in the dinghy.

Additional issues are DFDs (doggie flotation devices) and bathroom duty. Mine always wear their DFDs when above deck. I've also got them to "go" on a piece of astroturf at the bow that I can wash off when necessary. Another issue is fur. You should keep vigilant on cleaning up shedding fur so that it doesn't get into the bilge and clog up a bilge pump.

Other than that, the dogs are fine.

We have a 35-pound mutt who's quite a seadog, yet has sense enough to stay in the cockpit underway. At anchor, she goes anywhere but we also have netting on the lifelines to make sure she does not go overboard. The netting actually keeps a lot of things on board. We also tether her when things are rough and we have a PFD (Pooch Flotation Device) that she also wears. She doesn't mind it. In fact, she knows we are going somewhere when we put it on and welcomes it.

Never heard of boat shoes for a dog. Ours is pretty sure footed on the nromal deck non-skid. She does not scratch the brightwork. She sort of tumbles from the cockpit down the companionway to get into the boat, a controlled crash. She can also get herself out from the cabin to the cockpit.

She jumps from the deck into the dinghy off the stern, another controlled crash. She climbs aboard via the stern ladder from the dinghy with help. Once she gets her forepaws on the ladder she can make it the rest of the way but it often helps to have someone in the dinghy push while someone on deck pulls on her leash. But she has done it without help. Our boat is 37 feet and the freeboard is considerable.

Sanitation is the big problem. In four years we have never persuaded her to do her duty on board and she can go an extraordinarily long time before she gives up, and then only with great embarrassment. She must be taken ashore. Our previous dog was a Maltese who was paper trained at home and had a piddle pad in the cockpit on board. But this one insists on going ashore. Nothing we have been able to do so far has caused her to change her mind.

... dogs and boats:

Living aboard can really be broken down into three different modes: living on a dock and seldom moving, periodic inshore passagemaking with stops at anchor and/or a dock (like dragging the ICW twice a year), and offshore passagemaking with lots of anchoring out. A dog suited for one mode may not do as well in the others.

Offshore is the toughest. This last spring we completed a long offshore trip and while Scruffy did well, he didn't really thrive offshore. If you're going offshore, you'll need a very agile dog, a dog that is supremely confident of his athletic abilities, and one with a low center of gravity. But even then, dog claws are not cat claws and the dog will struggle the entire trip to feel secure and comfortable as he slides around. Next offshore passage we'll ship the dog. I think we'll all be happier.

After that consideration however, I don't see why a person can't have a dog aboard. Even big, long-legged dogs with a high CG can be good crewmembers on protected water passages.

But you also need to consider your physical abilities. A lot of people have big dogs -- labs, goldens, etc. -- aboard. But big dogs are a struggle to get back aboard the boat from the water or even into a dinghy from the water. And you can't always count on being able to winch the dog (even if he's already in a harness) back aboard. I've know people who've had to tow a big dog to shallow water so the dog could step into the dinghy.

Coats. No matter how careful you are with grooming, enough of a shedding breed's hair will eventually find it's way into the bilge to wrap itself around the spindle of your bilge pump (regardless how thoroughly you screen it). Even if you're diligent about cleaning your pump screens, it's the hair that washes down to the pump from seldom cleaned areas of the bilge during rough conditions that will get you. This is not a disqualifier, just a consideration.

Get a swimming breed. At best, dogs with short coats, high muscle mass and low body fat struggle to swim and at worst tire easily and sink like stones. I saw an American Bulldog go off the dock and straight to the bottom once. The owner had to swim down to bring her back up to the surface (actually, several people went after the dog since she was THE Marine Corps mascot at Camp LeJeune). It's body fat and trapped air in a thick coat help float a dog. Don't try, but I don't think you can drown a Chesapeake, a Golden, or a Lab -- they just seem naturally buoyant -- but their high CG works against them as passagemakers. You'll notice the contradiction concerning coats and pumps and trapping air.

No matter what you do to help keep a dog aboard, it is a certainty that the dog (like most people) will end up in the water. So, you've got to dedicate enough time to teach the dog how to rescue itself. Cats can climb back up a rope left over the side. Dogs can't. At a marina, that means teaching the dog to strike out for the beach (not a seawall) when she goes in. Swimming under piers and around pylons can be confusing and frightening for a dog. So it takes a good deal more training than you might suspect to get a dog competent at this. With smaller dogs you can create a small low-floating, outdoor carpeted platform with webbing loops for the dog to step into get herself out of the water. Our platform stays in the water even when we're at a dock and always when we're anchored. She can't get back aboard the boat, but at least she's out of the water. We have installed a bell on our platform so the dog can find it in the dark.

On our finger pier, we put a baby gate between the two dock boxes -- our neighbor doesn't mind. The dog can get on and off the boat but can't get past the gate. The downside is that the dog has to traverse the gap between the dock and the boat. But we went this route when it became clear she was not going to stay strictly on the boat.

Dogs I think make good all around LAs: Cairns -- of course!, Scotties, Westies, Poodles (which are actually a kind of water spaniel -- you have to trim a poodle, but you don't have to "fru-fru" the trim), Skipperkes, Portuguese Water Spaniels.

Once you get the dog trained to stand up between the dinghy and the caprail, just a little push is all that's required. Consider a harness with an added wide chest band. Also add a looped 'carrying handle' on the back of the harness to snag the dog with a boathook when needed. Getting into the dinghy, just hold onto the harness handle to help steer as the dog jumps in from the deck and to help soften the landing.

Footing - if the dog is long haired, be sure to trim the hair near the footpads to fully expose the rough pads. Keep the nails trimmed very short. I tether my pooch's harness to the binnacle in rough going. I added ribbed textured carpeting on the companionways steps to aid the human and canine footing. I have cockpit mounted shower to clean up the dog when reboarding (me too).

Be careful with not having enough water put out for the dog to drink on a hot humid day. Dogs can dehydrate very quickly. I use an inverted 32 oz. plastic soda bottle screwed into a wide deep dish. The dog takes as much he needs, the dish automatically refills, and the dish doesn't spill in a seaway.

In any of these 'new' procedures that you introduce your dog to be sure to use lots of praise, etc. I don't go anywhere with my boat without my dog; they enjoy it as much as I do, maybe more.

The guy that invented the original razor cut boat shoe sole did it by wondering why his dogs didn't slip around. If you look at the pads of their feet, they will resemble boat shoes, albeit not in a geometrical pattern. They should be fine if you just clip their nails. Maybe for boarding, make a gangplank out of a 2x12 and cover it with astroturf? Don't forget the doggie life preservers. Your biggest problem is going to be doggie smell and hygiene if you're on extended trips.

I've been sailing with 1, 2, or 3 dogs for the past 9 years. My oldest, a Schipperke, has sailed the entire East Coast, from Nova Scotia to Florida. I didn't start out using a life vest, but after a couple of overboard drills, I've learned. They all wear vests any time we're underway. The best I've seen are the British-made Crewsavers. Pricey. Alternatively, a vest that puts the flotation on the dog's back, with straps under the chest and belly and a lifting handle on the back should work.

If/when the dog goes overboard, stop the boat. Don't circle around; the animal won't understand you're coming back, and will swim as hard as possible in your wake.

My animals are trained to use the foredeck for elimination. A paper towel and bucket of seawater gets rid of the evidence. When the weather gets snotty, they seem to lose the urge!

Some dogs will get seasick. A half-tab of Bonine, available over the counter, seems to do the trick for us.

I store dry dog food in gallon-size zip-locks. Keeps well, and easy to store.

[Re: Getting dog out of the water:]

Any of the hunting suppliers (cabelas.com) carry special gear for water dogs and retrievers. You'll find dog PFD's cheaper than the marine suppliers carry them. And ramps, designed to stow and deploy from duck boats so the dogs can easily climb aboard or at least climb to a platform above water level.

Pets can be a wonderful joy to have around or a very large pain. Depends on the pet and depends on the situation. Cats do better than dogs. They seem to fend for themselves mostly, don't really need the company of anyone and with the help of a strip of carpet can get themselves back onboard.

I lived next to a boat on Guam that had a cat. Each morning around sun up I would watch the cat attempt to walk the dock line to shore.

The cat never made it, or at least never made it when I was watching. But each morning it would try. It would get about ten feet or so, half way. Then hang upside down for thirty seconds, and then by one paw, then with a tiny meow of resignation drop into the water. Swim to shore do its business and about noon time it could be seen again. Attempting to walk the line from the shore to the boat. The cat did this every day, twice a day for six months that I know of. I always wondered if it ever made the trip without having to swim.

The owner was an old man, and that cat and the ever refilled six pack of beer were the two companions he loved most.

Traveling with animals can be a Customs problem. A lot of countries do not have rabies and we do. So shots and quarantine are the norm. For a cat, quarantine is not so bad, they are happy enough to stay close to the boat and the can opener. For a dog it is a different matter, they usually are desperate to go to shore to whiz and bark at things.

Now I would think that this might work against taking a mature cat onboard, one that has established emotionally where home is supposed to be. Could be a real tough nut for the cat.

Since your mate is a cat person I presume, then she already knows what it is like to deal with cat hair, and all the other wonderful nuances of pet ownership ... in 80% less space.

... [Cats] can be pests in a marina, partly because people don't think they need to control them to the extent that they accept as appropriate for a dog. It is hard to keep them from exploring other people's boats. They were a real problem at one marina where I lived aboard for a while but it was mostly the result of a few people who refused to get their cats fixed. ...

My husband, our two cats and I live aboard a 31' Douglas (Brewer designed) sloop. Basically, the cats had no choice but to live aboard with us. They have adapted each in their own way. The older cat is 15 and hardly ever leaves the boat (We are currently working full-time to pay off the boat and we live at a marina). The younger, 3 year old hardly ever stays in the boat. He spends most of his time around the marina grounds. When we go out for the weekend, we capture the young one, stick him in the v-berth, and leave. Once we are away from the marina and have the sails up he's allowed to come out. Both walk around on deck, and seem quite curious about being surrounded by water. If things get a little hairy, we stick them back in the cabin, and they stay there. While we were tacking around a buoy in a race last weekend (yes, we race our home), the older one came out of the companionway, took one look at the swinging horizon and the intense action in front of him and jumped right back into the cabin. It looks like he's learning something. When we get on a rate of heel greater than 15 degrees, you can find the old cat lying on the upwind side with his feet propped out against something or in the v-berth nestled in the covers. The young one gets into the hanging locker in the v-berth (a very tight fit) and pretends to be asleep. Sorry about the long answer, but in all they seem to have adapted while at the marina. We are not sure how they will act when we begin to do much more anchoring and mooring out (starting next spring) ...

I introduced a 10 year old Siamese to sailing. He adapted fine and seemed to like it. He had also been a house cat. Cats are natural sailors. I'll bet that most would do better than we expect. I introduced my current cat as a kitten and now at ten she is a great sailor.

Start her out just being on the boat in the harbor. Work up gradually to heavy weather. Although my cat takes heavy weather better than most people.

Cats really make better pets aboard small boats (under 40') than dogs. They are for the most part independent of their owners. They do not require shore trips and can deal with heeling better (their claws do this). The down side to this is if your cat takes a liking to using the teak as a scratching post (one of mine tries this occasionally). Most of the people I have come across with dogs onboard have dogs that seem to be dying to get ashore. That seems really unfair to the dog.

We are currently cruising with kitty ... Make sure you bring a collapsible cat carrier with you for those times he/she needs to be transported. Lastly, having a pet on board will restrict, somewhat, your land touring unless you can link up with other cruising folk who like animals and would be willing to keep an eye on kitty.

> I have heard of people with cats leaving a towel tied
> to the swim ladder and if the cats
> go over they will swim to the towel and climb back in.

The best cat solution I've seen was on a French boat I encountered in Nova Scotia. The owner was towing a large - maybe two foot square - block of styrofoam about 4 feet astern. If his cat went overboard, it would swim to the styrofoam, climb up, and leap back aboard the boat. There were claw marks all over the block, so I know it was used.

Gotta disagree with you on the "boats and dogs go together" bit. Boats and Cats do, they complement each other well. Cats are self-sufficient, don't need to be taken ashore and seem (from my experience) to adapt far better to life afloat. Every dog owner in my marina seems to have issues with their dogs madly jumping ashore when they get back from a sail. It's like the dogs can't get off the boat fast enough. I even seen one in so much of a panic as to jump to the dock while the boat was still attempting to dock.

Not my experience - my dog loves running around my boat - seems to like being on it just as much as he does on land or in the water itself.

Frankly, I've gotta disagree a little with the "cats are wonderful on boats". Most people seem to have good experiences with cats aboard, but I'll point out a few negatives I've run across with cats too.

1 - They claw, and there's a lot of fabric on a boat for a cat to claw and play on. I've known one owner whose sailcovers went to hell in a season cause he couldn't keep the cat off them.

2- If they don't do well with a litter box, and some don't, there's no land nearby for them to run to, and since they aren't 'boat' trained, they 'adapt' to doing their business around the docks, etc. Case in point - the cat down the dock from me that takes to crapping in every other boat's cockpit in a 50 foot radius of his own.

3- Prone to mischief, they end up in the water quite often - the one I know of like this always - fortunately - manages to find his way out - how he does it, I don't know.

Again, I know most people enjoy their cats on their boats, and have few problems, but I'm not sure they're any better suited than a dog, in certain circumstances.

... I occasionally deal with people taking birds overseas. It's much easier to get a listed bird out of the country than it is to get it back into the USA. So, If you have pre-Endangered Species Act bird or if your bird may ever be placed on the list, be certain that you get documentation of owning that bird from the Federal Parks and Wildlife folks BEFORE you leave the country.

...

Traveling around isn't nearly as difficult as trying to get back into the US with a listed bird. Go straight to the horse's mouth -- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It all depends on the paperwork you present when you come home, particularly with a bird listed on the protected or endangered species list. Screw it up and you'll be visiting your expensive bird in a public zoo. You don't say what kind of bird you're getting, but you'd be surprised how many species of tropical birds that are fairly common in the USA that are also on those lists.

There are FWS permits you will have to obtain. You're also going to need USDA inspection along the way and US Customs will be interested in your bird as well (they recently caught a guy bringing in 38 tropical birds worth 1.8 million dollars, it's big business).

April 98 issue of the SSCA Bulletin has a letter about taking a parrot to the Bahamas. It says in brief:

1) If your bird is covered under CITES (endangered species) you need an export permit. If you return within a year, you will not need an import permit. Call 800-358-2104 several months prior to leaving. Good for only 90 days. Must be countersigned by local F and W officer.

2) Write or fax for a permit to import a companion bird to the Bahamas. This permit must be presented when clearing in. Good for 45 days - cost $10.

3) Take the Bahamian permit's enclosed Health Certificate to a vet or an avian checkup, and get a copy of "US Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals" (just interstate is not enough).

4) Have your International Health Certificate countersigned by a USDA vet. $16.50 and be sure to bring the CITES permit with you.

If your bird is microchipped the only ports that can scan it are Ft Lauderdale and Miami. After the vet verifies the bird ID and health, he will be quarentined to the boat for 30 days, and you can't leave the area. After 30 days the vet returns to clear you and your bird ($160).

Some of this is only for the Bahamas, but I think the US stuff would apply no matter where you went.

[Re: Paperwork to take a dog into the Bahamas:]

All depends on how nice you are to the customs guy. Officially, you must have a proof of rabies shot within last six months, official health certificate for the dog, and a Bahamas pet import license (which you get months in advance from the govt for $10).

Last time we cleared in without the import license, because the govt of the Bahamas never mailed us one. The customs agent was cool with that - a lot of people had complained that they never received their forms. He did insist on seeing the health certificate and rabies form, however.

If I were you, I would definitely go to a vet in FL and get the certificate and rabies vaccination. Officially the certificate is supposed to be within 48 hours of entry into the Bahamas, but the customs people know that is impossible for boaters and won't check the date. My last one was a couple of months old.

You might be able to get in without the import license. Generally, the customs guys are very friendly and really want you to visit the country. I suppose you could say you never received the one you requested and paid for. Be friendly and nice. I would NOT recommend trying to conceal the dog. They have never searched our boat, but I'm sure you would be in big trouble if they found an illegal pooch. Without the import license, they will probably give you a brief lecture and let you in, but they do have the right to refuse you entry if you don't have all the paperwork for Fido.

Several boats that we have cruised with have cruised with dogs in the South Pacific. There was an article about this in an SSCA Bulletin about two years ago that covered this in good detail by Bruce and Pam on Aquabi who have cruised in both the Caribbean and the South Pacific with a dog. So if you contacted SSCA they could look it up in their Bulletin Index and direct you to the correct Bulletin (or sell it to you if you don't have it or can't beg or borrow it from someone).

To summarize, dogs must have all the proper papers and are generally not allowed ashore (unfortunately, many dog owners have a tendency to ignore this on the more remote locations, since dogs seem to need more room than the space on the boat to exercise) on most of the Islands until you have been away from rabies locations for six months. In French Polynesia you can then get approved that your dog is rabies free and it makes it a bit easier the rest of the way. ... in New Zealand and Australia, quarantining is usually the rule and if not quarantined (i.e. kept on boat) is checked by MAF weekly and if the animal is found ashore, would be destroyed. Australia and New Zealand take this extremely seriously. The dog usually goes to jail (quarantine center) for about 3 months ... if you get cleared for New Zealand and sail directly to Australia from New Zealand, the Australians will not require further quarantining. If you go back into the Islands (Fiji or New Caledonia) in between, the quarantining process starts again.

Bringing animals into these islands is no simple task, but we have seen people cruise with birds, dogs and cats and put up with the grief that results. If you plan on doing so, the one piece of advice that I would offer is to expect to have to jump through unreasonable hoops that you may not like. I always hated to hear animal owners incessantly complain about the regulations, requirements and additional costs that animals incurred. Remember it is their country and whatever rules they want to create, reasonable or not, is their choice ... your choice is whether to even stop in that country or to bring the animal along in the first place.

We just returned from 8 months in the Bahamas with our dog. We had no problems whatever with authorities or the regulations. We found dogs not uncommon on other boats. Here are the regulations for the Bahamas:

An import permit is required from the Ministry of Agriculture. Applications plus $10 fee must be made in writing to the Director of Agriculture, P.O. Box N-3704, Nassau, The Bahamas. To get a copy of the application, you can call 242-325-7502 or 325-7509 and ask them to fax it to you.

For the USA and Canada the following are the main provisions of the Import Permit for dogs or cats:

- The animal must be 6 months of age or older.

- The animal must be accompanied by a valid certificate showing that it has been vaccinated against Rabies within not less than one month and not more than 10 months prior to importation.

- The animal must be accompanied by a Veterinary Health Certificate presented within 48 hours of arrival to a Bahamian Veterinarian for examination.

- The permit is valid for 90 days from date of issue.

That said, we had all our papers in order upon arrival in West End and the officials hardly gave them a look. We never presented the Health Certificate or the dog to a Bahamian Vet for examination, and stayed much longer than 90 days. No one ever asked us about our papers or Import Permit or gave us any trouble about our dog.

A note about the Bahamas: as a rule Bahamians are terrified of dogs because most dogs in the islands are kept as watch/guard dogs, not pets. Our non-descript black Lab would clear a swath down a crowded street in Nassau. We figured having her aboard was a great deterrent against theft even though her greatest threat would be to lick the thieves to death.

With respect to the regulations in other countries, you can get Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Handbook for a quick $70 for a thumb-nail description of each country's requirements plus addresses and phone numbers, OR you can simply look up the nearest consulate of the country you intend to visit in the Yellow pages before you leave and ask them for the info. Cornell's book is really only worth it if you are circumnavigating.

Hope that helps. Remember to bring all the dog food you can carry as it is EXPENSIVE elsewhere.

[Re: Taking dog sailing in the Med:] ... A friend who cruised the Med with two dogs and a cat told me Spain, France and Italy were no problem.

Let me state very clearly up front, I mean absolutely no disrespect by the following question, I just want to understand something that is terribly foreign to me. Why would anyone even consider bringing a pet on board?

Downsides: pet hair, food, bathroom issues, smell, fleas and ticks, damage due to chewing or claws, and the general concern that someone has to watch the animal limiting your freedom of movement unless you always take the pet with you everywhere you go longer than a day or two.

Upsides: companionship from an animal that doesn't judge you or yell at you or spend all of your money on shoes and handbags?

Please enlighten me, I have never understood this.

Let it be known that I do think many animals are cute and cuddly. I am not an animal hater. But this is a small space we live in. And I am borderline OC when it comes to cleanliness. What makes the downsides worth it? Thanks in advance for helping me understand.
p.s. I really have no issues with one's right to keep a pet on board, I just don't really want one on my boat ...