By John Cairns
DISCOVERY BAY, Hong Kong – Bobbing on the waves usually ranks low on a dog's list of “fun” activities. But it can make a pleasant pastime if a reliable boat prevents one's fur from getting wet.
Sandy, a nine-year-old, brown dog of uncertain breeding, confirmed as much when I met her on a houseboat at the Discovery Bay Marina. She shares the floating home with her favorite human, 18-year-old Roos (Rose) Kooiker, and two others she likes, namely Rose's parents, Karin and Henk.
“Sandy has experienced ups and downs with living on the water,” Rose said. “Her biggest problem is struggling (thanks to a hip-socket ailment) with the steep, narrow stairs to get on and off the boat.
“I think Sandy's a special case. She lives on the water, but never likes being covered by water. She dislikes taking showers and, unlike other dogs, doesn't go swimming.”
Luckily, Sandy never tumbles off the boat, despite taking an interest in the fish sometimes leaping nearby. “We thought she might have an issue with living above and surrounded by water,” Rose said, “but the stairs bother her much more.”
When onboard, Sandy loves to sunbathe on the deck. Inside the cabin, she enjoys stretching out on a cushy carpet.
A surprising number of Hong Kong dogs live on the water. At the marina, Sandy notices dozens of canine neighbors. From the deck, she watches them pass in small boats, riding with their people to and from particular houseboats.
“Many families here have more than one dog,” Rose said. “Sandy has met a lot of new friends.”
In Aberdeen and elsewhere, other dogs, mostly sure-footed, seafaring creatures, live on fishing boats or other “working” vessels. Like pets and guard dogs on shore, they keep their humans company and bark out warnings when potential intruders come too close.
Back in 2001, the Kooikers came to Hong from the Netherlands. Then a child, Rose had left her two pet rabbits with friends there. “That broke our hearts,” Karin said. “What a sad decision! The little rabbits were Rose's children then. If anyone rang the doorbell, she'd come with her ‘babies’ and she'd walk them in a little stroller.”
Once settled in Hong Kong, the family adopted a dog. “Sandy was my first birthday present here,” Rose recalls.
The Kooikers found a puppy they liked at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). “We believe she'd lived on the streets for about four weeks until the SPCA got her,” Rose said.
They named the new family member similarly to Sandra, a beloved dog that Karin fondly remembers from her own childhood. “I'd always wanted to have more dogs,” Karin confessed.
Remarkably, the adopted “little ball of fluff” even matured to resemble Sandra, the long-ago Dutch dog. “Can you believe it?” Karin said. “It's almost like my own dog has come back. Sandy's face looks very similar.”
Actually, Rose insists, she borrowed the name Sandy from a dog in the Broadway production Annie. “I felt very fond of that musical,” she said. “The only dog's name I knew then was Sandy.”
So Rose and Sandy “grew up” together. “We're soul-mates and best friends,” Rose said. “We know each other well, and I talk to her. She reacts to what I tell her.”
Sandy's favorite words to hear are “walks” and “treats” (such as cheese or crunchy rice crackers). “She really recognizes some words,” Rose said.
Karin added: “We all talk to her. She's not just a dog. She's a valuable family member. If we say to her, ‘Sandy, stay home. We'll be back,’ then she goes and lies on her bed. If she sees us dressing up and wants to come with us, we'll come upstairs and she'll be near the door already. She understands a lot.”
Rose perceives plenty about her pet too. “Sandy's a very sweet dog,” she said. “She's never bitten anyone. She's gentle, understanding, protective and occasionally jealous. If we meet other dogs and pet them, she'll be right there to make sure they don't become our favorites over her. She's a great dog to have.”
Inspired by knowing Sandy so well, Rose has volunteered to help at animal-welfare charities, including Hong Kong's Lifelong Animal Protection and the Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation. Financially, she sends support to a similar organization in Thailand.
“I appreciate all animals, but dogs most of all,” Rose said. “They’re people's ‘best friends’ and serve us in many ways. They understand a lot about humans.”
Rose's affection for animals looks sure to last a lifetime. “I've heard friends say they were bitten once and became scared of dogs,” she said. “But I've been bitten by a dog before – back in Holland when I was younger -- and it didn't change my relationship with dogs.
“The dog that bit me belonged to a stranger. I thought it looked friendly and wanted to pet it. Straight away, it grabbed my hand in its mouth. I bled, but the bite wasn't really serious.”
A crisis nears as Rose prepares to return to Europe for university studies (probably in hotel management). To avoid a long-distance relationship for the perpetual soul-mates, Sandy, too, may leave Hong Kong for the Netherlands.
“Maybe Sandy would like to study with me,” Rose said. “I'd like for her to be there.” Karin's sister has volunteered a place for Sandy to stay.
If Rose does become a top hotel-executive someday, she may introduce a few pet-friendly policies. “I think I'd allow dogs on the premises,” she said. “In Amsterdam, there are hotels where pets and people can stay together, each receiving special treatment.”
For most of Sandy’s life, she lived in houses in Discovery Bay. In mid 2010, the Kooikers moved onto the houseboat. “We decided it would be a good experience,” Rose said. “I think Sandy notices the reduced living space on the boat. When we lived in houses, she always had a garden where she could run.”
Even so, the houseboat isn't tiny – with 1,800 square feet of living space on three levels. It leaves the marina just once a year for hull-cleaning at a shipyard. “We'd have to hire a captain to go sailing, and I understand that houseboats are difficult to maneuver,” Karin said.
Facilities at the 220-berth marina include a dog park onshore to take pets to socialize, walk or even frolic. Normally, Sandy goes there three times a day. “But on rainy days, she refuses because she doesn't like getting wet,” Rose said.
At heart, Sandy remains a landlubber. “After we take her for walks in the dog park, she really doesn't want to climb back onto the boat,” Karin said. But she always does.
“For Sandy, partly due to her experience with houses and big gardens, she always had a lot of freedom,” Karin said. “She likes people and enjoys lying outside in a garden to watch them. On the boat, her freedom's more limited. In that respect, I regret moving here.”
When sunbathing on the deck, Sandy watches people and pets stroll past along the piers. She's even more interested because dogs live on the adjacent boats too. “I think she's a good guard dog,” Rose said.
One neighbor-dog barks a lot. “When Sandy hears that, she runs onto the deck and barks too,” Rose said.
“Then it's a sing-along,” Karin added.
The longer I visited with Sandy and her humans, the more I realized how much they love her, and she them. When stroking the dog's fur and peering into her now-graying face, I realized the ultimate truth, almost as if Sandy had conveyed it to me – what counts isn't whether a dog lives on land or water. What matters the most is with whom the dog lives and the interactions with other family members.
If Sandy could have spoken English, I know that's exactly what she would have told me.
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