From A Boat Dog To A Land Dog - Something Wagging This Way Comes

Thanks to a work opportunity, Honey has gone from being a boat dog to a land dog.

How do you think she likes it?

Big Change For The Boat Dog

No. We’re not independently wealthy. Or retired.

We work from the boat.

For me, that means being a virtual assistant (VA) for other website owners. My husband, Mike, works as an architect. Honey volunteers as our onboard therapy dog.

Thanks to technology, we usually work as we travel. But occasionally Mike finds it helpful to get off the boat to work in the offices of his clients.

When that happens, Honey and I tie up to a dock somewhere in a dog-friendly town (Beaufort, South Carolina was one of our favorites). Mike goes to work.

Last year, Mike reconnected with some old acquaintances in a Delaware architecture firm. And after a couple months in a hotel room, we looked at a longer-term arrangement where the whole family could be together.

In early October, Honey and I were packing up the boat (well, to be honest, she wasn’t too helpful). By the middle of the month, we had relocated to an apartment in Wilmington, Delaware.

And finally, Honey and I delivered the boat to Deltaville, Virginia (with my sister for company) where it would be taken out of the water, weatherized, and refit with various repairs.

Our trip to Deltaville took three days. And it was the first time I singlehanded that boat–something every boat owner should do at least once (click the link if you want to read about how it went).

Boat dog and crew - golden retriever and woman at sailboat helm — We make pretty good mates. Maybe *Meander* should always have an all female crew.

After that last adventure, Honey got to relearn how to go from being a boat dog to being a land dog.

Dog In A Time Of Corona

For the past six months, we’ve been living in a one-bedroom apartment just off the Brandywine Creek in downtown Wilmington.

It’s a big change for Honey.

For one thing, we’re in a third-floor walkup. That’s a lot of steep stairs for a 10-year-old dog (and for her grocery-toting hu-mom as well).

These stairs are steep. Where’s my boat ramp?

Every day she gets to walk city parks and streets. Before the pandemic hit, she made some special doggie friends.

There are lots of places to take pretty pictures in the city. Of course, I look just as pretty as a land dog as a boat dog.

And that’s what’s made this nasty virus really hard for Honey to bear. My little extrovert dog misses being able to say hi to–well, anyone.

I think she’s been a little depressed.

And since we don’t have to travel every day, Honey even gets less of our attention. We both spend a lot more hours each day working.

A typical day on the boat often involved hours of travel, during which she’d sit and cuddle with whoever was not on the helm.

I try to remember how much she loves attention by playing games with her throughout the day. But I’ll never duplicate on land the six or so hours of attention she gets on the boat while we’re just traveling the waterways.