One of the reasons we bought the boat we did was because of its ability for the dogs to get in and out with ease and plenty of room for them to walk around. We have two dogs, Bristol a Lab/Boxer mix who is 10 and Bo Peep, a 7 year old Yellow Lab. Both are from a shelter and Bo Peep had hip dysplasia surgery, hence why you will see her with a harness on, to help get her in and out. Another reason for boating with the dogs is the access you have getting to beaches where dogs are allowed. Most of the beaches on St Thomas and St John do not allow dogs.
We had a boat in Reno, Nevada and took the dogs out on Lake Tahoe and Eagle Lake, CA. That boat was a 19 ft Bayliner 195 and was a good all around boat for us and the dogs.
The dogs love going out on the boat and it is no different here in the Virgin Islands. Our fist time out with them was to Christmas Cove, a small cove off of St James Island on the SE side of St Thomas. There are mooring balls there. Well they went swimming all right, to a small sandy spot. Problem was there were sea urchins all around this little beach and Bristol stepped on one! She was ok, and in a few hours she stopped limping.
We learned that we need to scout out a beach with a mask and snorkel before they are allowed to shore!
They had a great day and just love the warm water. After always being in fresh water, it was funny to watch them try drinking the salt water.
Another Sunday we ventured further out over to St John and anchored up to a nice beach.
Another weekend, back to Christmas Cove but this time we took a mooring ball on the East side of the cove and found that beach to be sea urchin free!
Now if you don't have a boat and want to go to a beach with your dogs (only if you clean up after your dog!) you can go to Vessup Beach on the east end. If you can find the road, you can drive your truck right onto the beach!
Someone asked me about dogs in the BVI and after doing some research and permit needs to be filled out and an examination needs to be done by a BVI vet. Sadly, the dogs probably won't be going to the BVI.
So many things to do with the dogs and if you don't go out on the boat or go to a dog friendly beach you can always just go in the pool!
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