Baxter was mutt, a mix of golden retriever and husky, but his human companions John and Christine Heenan say he acted like a golden, a you can see on this shot aboard a rented SeaRay on Lake Norman, North Carolina.
“He loved everyone and always jumped in the water off the boat to check on us when we went swimming. Then back to the boat to watch over everyone in the water,” John Heenan says. “I think his face shows how much he truly loved going boating…unfortunately he got sick the following winter and didn’t make it. I am so GLAD that we rented the boat as we had sold ours back in Florida.
The second photo shows Baxter as lifeguard. “We were on the lake years earlier in Tennessee on the upper Cumberland River when we had rented a pontoon.” Heenan recalls.
Welcome to Pets Aboard’s special “12 Dogs of Christmas” edition. Baxter is No. 5. With dozens of dogs in the queue, we decided that we would pick up the pace over the holidays. So every day between now and Jan. 5—the 12 days of Christmas—we will feature a new mutt.
Usually we do this Friday afternoon (or Saturday morning when we get behind), and since we have dozens of entries, it will take a while to post them all so be patient.
Send pictures of your dog or cat to [email protected], and we’ll put him or her on display like Baxter. Ideally you will include the names of the human companions, the make, model and name of boat, homeport, and a paragraph that provides context for the image or describes what makes your pet special. If you’ve got the image in high-resolution, that would allow us to publish it in the magazine, or a calendar…We just don’t know where this will lead yet, but it’s fun.
Though not exactly a contest, the editors are thinking of providing some kind of material reward to anyone who sends a truly striking image. Cute counts!
