Wet Pets and Other Watery Tales
Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue League
The Book:
Foreword
Books, dogs, and boats have been a holy trinity for me as long as I can remember. Very infrequently have these loves come together as they have in the pages of Wet Pets . . .
When I started Maine Boats & Harbors magazine in 1987, the first editorial department in place was "Boatyard Dog." Since the very beginning it has been a reader favorite.
The dog that inspired the column was Fagin, my Golden Retriever, a dog I got right after college and who soon joined me working the docks at the Henry R. Hinckley Company. I have never known a being more enthusiastic about going to work than Mr. F. He would dance on his hind legs, yelping for joy all the way down the long wharf every morning until he could jump aboard the yard boat Roustabout. His career, and mine, soon moved into publishing. First at Wooden Boat and then as we both became older dogs, at our own magazine. Books, boats, and dogs.
Out of the "Boatyard Dog" column grew a series of annual regattas, called "Goin' to the Dogs," that we held in Camden and Rockport Harbors. The first regatta was featured in the Camden Herald, along with a photo of our canine boat crews with a "No Dogs Allowed" sign in the background. The proceeds from these events went to the Camden-Rockport Animal Shelter.
It was soon after one of these regattas that the editors of Wet Pets . . . came to the offices of Maine Boats & Harbors to discuss their project. I am so glad they persevered and did not let the mental "No Dogs Allowed" sign dissuade them. The result is this fine book about boats and dogs (and a few cats, too).
John K. Hanson, Jr., Publisher
Maine Boats & Harbors
The Magazine of the Coast
Cats? Yes, indeed, and a couple of ducks, too.
The Editors