Benny the Springer

As a boat dog, Benny is a stalwart ambassador for his breed. On his spaniel side, he is ready and able year-round, no matter the weather, to go for a swim and chase a stick or any duck or cormorant that happens to swim by. In the case of the latter two, sometimes his people, Sue and Mark Pillsbury, have wondered with some concern whether he’d eventually give up the chase and remember to return to shore. And as for his springer side? Well, even as a young pup, on an inflatable ride there was never any telling when a bird or some other floating object might catch his attention and he’d spring forth, even with the motor wide open, to retrieve it. This summer, his folks purchased a new-to-them sailboat with higher freeboard than the sloop Benny grew up sailing on. They were concerned when they approached the boat for the first time and had to lift Benny up from the tender. But soon enough, Benny was back in form, hovering and hunting on the dinghy’s bow in search of fish between the dock and the mooring, and then, once alongside the sailboat, with a mighty leap and perfect timing, he was aboard his ship and ready to sail. Benny may just teach his dad Mark—this magazine’s editor—a few new tricks, as Mark leaps from Massachusetts to a home on a midcoast Maine peninsula. 

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Send a photo of your water-friendly dog & details to editor@maineboats.com.