Dog Friendly – Doggie Boat Cruise!

by Nancy Hassel, ThisFurryLife.com

I absolutely love to see businesses become more and more pet friendly and use their noodle on ways to cater to pet parents.  The other night I took my dog Cody on a dog friendly doggie boat cruise out of Freeport, NY on Captain Lou Fleet.  Brilliant idea if you ask me and it was only $20 bucks per person, and dogs came on board for free.   They have had a few doggie cruises over the summer, and this was the first time I have seen anything like this on Long Island, NY.   If you didn’t know our parent company, American Pet Professionals, sends out the popular Pet Events Newsletter every week, so seeing this event happening surely made me smile.

I would say there were about 40 dogs on board with their owners, all sizes, some decked out in sailing attire, which of course was adorable.  The area 2 floors to the boat and wrap around on the outside, in the inside of the 1st floor there are booths where you can sit at and upstairs their are wrap around benches and a large dance floor.  So there was plenty of room, and a beautiful view of the water where ever you were.  You could also purchase snacks and drinks on board for the humans.

All of the dogs seemed to be really enjoying themselves – the only part of the cruise that some dogs seemed nervous was getting on and off the boat – it was easy if your dog regularly goes up and down stairs.  But keep that in mind as it is a new experience for many dogs.

I love this concept and hope more places across Long Island start offering it as well so we can all enjoy, with our dogs, seeing different bays and water ways.

Many people had dinner on the Nautical Mile with their dogs before and after the cruise at one of the many restaruants with outdoor seating.  A great evening, and I can see lots of fun possibilities for more businesses to take note and learn from Captain Lou’s Fleet.

Have you ever taken your dog on a doggie cruise?  What fun things have you done with your dogs that are unique or new to the dog world?  We would love to know, post your comments below!