Canvas Services on Shelter Island ... But peer closer, and you'll find other pets on boats, including .... chances of re
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FEATURE CALIFORNIA
Boating with Pets Creative solutions to keep cats and dogs safe on board STORY AND PHOTOS BY NICOLE SOURS LARSON LOOK AROUND MOST MARINAS and you’ll notice a legion of leashed dogs out for walks with their owners. But peer closer, and you’ll find other pets on boats, including curious felines gazing from windows, watching birds and monitoring dockside activities.
yanked abruptly in a rescue attempt. Instead, we began training them to a harness and leash — not very successfully — in case of an emergency, and looked for PFDs, or life jackets.
Spotting a resident cat aboard a slipmate’s boat convinced my husband and me that we could bring our own cats Amy and Alexander on board. We had begun searching for a larger boat, a Viking 55, and realized it could easily accommodate our cats’ safety needs. Once the boat was shipped from Florida to San Diego, we took on the challenge of keeping our two curious housecats inside, occupied and out of trouble.
PETS AFLOAT
SCREENING PROCESS “Cat-proofing” the new boat took longer than expected — a full four months. To keep our cats aboard and provide ventilation, we needed screens for our hatches. The greatest challenge was finding a vendor willing to make custom screens for our fantail. Only one San Diego dealer, Ken McKernan of Park Place Screen & Glass Co., would consider working on a boat with its irregular dimensions. His craftsmen produced well-fitting, extra-sturdy screens with “cat-proof” locks for our sliding glass doors. The ever-reliable Mike Gavin of CA-14 SEA / JUNE 2011
Canvas Services on Shelter Island designed creative fold-up canvas screens for our pilothouse doors and an innovative accordion screen barrier for our flying bridge. Talking to other boaters with cats reinforced our instinct to designate one cabin, with an adjoining head and litter box, to secure the cats while under way. Now, with Amy’s growing escape-artist expertise, we’re adding exterior latches to keep them inside. On board we duplicated everything Amy and Alexander have at home — toys, cat tree/scratching post, multiple cat beds, two litter boxes, litter disposal bins, food and water bowls — to keep them entertained and comfortable. We purchased special carriers, fleece-lined rolling Petotes — quickly renamed boatotes — reserved only for boating and pleasure, never vet visits. As a result they love the boat. For safety equipment, we positioned our telescoping retrieval net by the fantail doors where a cat was most likely to go overboard. Kari Swanson, our Sunroad Marina office manager, warned us against using collars, which can prove fatal to cats if
Good quality PFDs come in many styles from different manufacturers, ranging in price from $25 to $75, according to size. All should have a handle on the vest’s back, enabling you to lift your pet back aboard with a boathook. Some PFDs are more suited to different shaped dogs, but none is made specifically for cats. We selected yellow Ruff Wear Float Coats, recommended by Noah’s Natural Pet Market owner Mary Jansky, who chose this for her boating dog, and had them tailored to fit by Torrey Pines Gliderport’s “wing doctor,” Steve Stackdale. He added “panties,” security belts and buckles that even squirmy Amy can’t escape. For his miniature poodle, Zeke, Capt. Marty Fogel of San Diego prefers Paws Aboard’s design, because it provides flotation material under Zeke’s neck, forcing his head up from the water. San Diegan Doug Hokstad, who takes his champion surfdog, Dozer, an English bulldog, out on his boat, prefers the New Zealand-designed Dfa, which also has under-the-neck
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flotation. “Dozer is a big guy and not a water dog, so a life vest is mandatory for his safety and enjoyment,” Hokstad said. “Unlike all the other vests, there are no straps, buckles or velcro under the neck, which makes a vest uncomfortable and, worse yet, provides no flotation where it is most important. The vest buckles from both sides, so it is so easy to get Dozer’s robust body into and out of the vest. The vest is stable and does not pull and tug at Dozer, making it very comfortable,” Hokstad says.
PETS ON BOARD Getting a dog on board can present challenges. Shooter, a German Shorthair Pointer, lives with Mark and Stephanie Hodlin of Riverside County. He loves the boat but hesitates stepping from the dock to board the swim platform of their Mares Power Cat, which has cattleguardlike rungs at its edge. They solved the problem by putting down a towel – Shooter’s “special blue towel” – covering the rungs and giving him traction on slippery fiberglass. “Once the towel is down, he feels safe,” Mark explained.
PETS OVERBOARD Retrieving pets — especially heavy dogs — once they’ve fallen overboard
FEATURE CALIFORNIA
or gone swimming can require brute strength, but two manufacturers offer easy solutions, ranging in price from about $200 to $400. Paws Aboard owner Amber McCrocklin developed the foldable Doggy Boat Ladder, which attaches to most boat swim ladders, in response to her own need to get her large dog back onto her 22-foot boat. Theresa Marler, founder of Pup Gear Corp., took a different route to a solution for the same problem. She developed a floating dog ramp, called Doggydocks, which attaches to a standard dock cleat or any flat surface. Doggydocks are available in standard and jumbo sizes for large dogs and in a foldable version for onboard storage. For his two liveaboard cats, Fogel, author of the children’s book “The Adventures of Noah and his Seacats,” describes teaching the kittens to climb aboard by hanging burlap over the sides. He taught the kittens how to swim — he calls it “running in water” — by dropping them over the bow and watching them swim to the stern to climb aboard. Later he replaced the burlap with a thick-diameter line. “I tied knots every foot or so and hung it from a stern cleat so they could climb on board. They’d climb up the line whenever they’d knock each
Finding the right PFD is paramount to your pet’s safety and comfort.
other into the water while playing,” he explains. Other boaters dangle carpeting strips overboard boats for cats to climb.
SAFETY AT SEA San Clemente-based “Pet Safety Lady” Christina Selter, who teaches classes nationally on pet safety on water and land, reminds boaters to put down carpeting or mats on their fiberglass decks to give their pets’ feet traction and to protect against hot surfaces. She also recommends providing a shady spot and extra water to prevent dehydration while keeping them away from hazardous substances, such as antifreeze. Selter emphasizes the importance of taking a pet first-aid and CPR class before bringing pets on board. Be sure to equip your boat with a pet first-aid kit, available from the American Red Cross. Kits are sold for about $30 to $35, or assemble your own from lists provided online by the Humane Society of the United States.
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FEATURE CALIFORNIA
Custom-made screens (left) for all doors and hatches are important to keep curious cats inside. Special-designed ladders (right) make it easy for water-loving dogs to climb back on board.
PET BOATING SAFETY PRODUCTS & RESOURCES
One of the best safety precautions you can take to prevent the loss of a pet that may fall overboard is to microchip your pet, which improves your chances of recovery, especially if an ID tag is lost. Many county animal services departments offer this service, as do most vets, at a cost of $20 to $50. It’s important to keep your pets’ vaccinations current and carry a copy of these certificates, especially for rabies, on board. If you’re taking your pet to Canada or Mexico, you’ll need to carry health certificate copies. Pettravel.com offers full information online. With advance planning and adequate provisioning, you can safely take your pets boating and ensure they enjoy their adventures as much as you do.
• Screens/Canvas Park Place Screen and Glass ................parkplacescreenandglass.com Canvas Services ........................................canvasservices.com • Life Jackets/PFDs/Accessories Ruff Wear ....................................................ruffwear.com D-fa Gear for Dogs ..................................d-fa.com Paws Aboard ..............................................pawsaboard.com • Carriers Petotes ..........................................................petotes.com • Doggy Boat Ladders and Ramps Paws Aboard ..............................................pawsaboard.com Pup Gear ......................................................pupgearcorporation.com • Pet Safety Links American Red Cross ................................redcross.org Pet Tech ........................................................pettech.net Humane Society ......................................hsus.org The Pet Safety Lady..................................petsafetylady.com Pet Travel (health certificates) ............pettravel.com
Sat May 21 & Sun May 22 Orange County Fairgrounds
Fabulous Seminars That Will Change The Way You Fish, Great Saltwater Fishing Exhibits, Beer Garden, Door Prizes, Lots of Cool Fishing Boats. $10 Buys You Admission To Both Shows! Youths 12 & Under FREE!! Visit PCSportfishing.com For Seminar Schedule and More Information CA-16 SEA / JUNE 2011
