Morty is our boat dog! He lives a happy life on board Wisdom, enjoying life with me as a bachelor before I met Maddie, and now greatly enjoying life with Maddie in our lives.
I got him as a puppy, and he was tiny. He rode home in a cat litter box (in case he had an accident).
He quickly grew to like life onboard (as it was all he knew). He was a very relaxed puppy who liked to sleep and lay around all the time. He would play with his rope toys, but then quickly fall asleep.
When he was big enough to wear a chihuahua life jacket, I decided to take him out sailing. I expected him to run around the deck and fall into the water, but he stayed in the cockpit with me and never left my side. If I was standing, he was by my foot, if I was sitting, he was by my side.
I kept a line tied to his life jacket, tethering him to the binnacle, but he never tried to run around the boat anyways. The truth is he would always lay by my foot and go to sleep while we sailed through the waves towards our destination.
As a young puppy, I kept him well socialized; always introducing him to new dogs so he could make new friends. One of his favorite friends is named Ginger, she's my parents dog, and they used to play together all day while I was at work.
He also learned valuable life lessons, such as "Don't fall into the harbor" and if he jumps into the water, he will get a bath as soon as I pull him from the water. He doesn't like baths, so he also avoids getting in the water.
On his first Christmas, Morty received his skull and crossbones collar. My mom got him an elf costume which he only wore for a few moments before he laid down to take a nap.
Life was good, we would go sailing on the weekends. Morty enjoyed his lazy days at anchor, sleeping in on the berth next to me! It was a simple life which we both enjoyed thoroughly.
This is around the time that Maddie came into the picture. There were some changes that happened right away, such as a more comfy bed, and long walks during the day while I was at work.
As a true boat dog, his leash is a sail tie.
Even though we changed the mattress in the V-berth, Morty still sleeps in the same spot after all these years. His spot is up in the peak of the bow, right next to the chain locker. I guess he likes the cool air that comes in the hoss pipe in the deck for the anchor chain. He has grown a bit since he first slept up there.
After Maddie moved in, the boat was further along in its preparation for longer voyages and that means that Morty got to go on longer trips with us. As usual, he enjoys relaxing near us as we sail along.
It's been three fun years so far, and he is an awesome boat dog. He's explored new waters and slept most of the way there!
