Miss
April 2003 - Kayla
The judges
have picked an Apex dog as Pet Of The Month because of the splashy
impression she made in March during one of her many visits to
Oriental.
It was the day of the NSA Coffee Cup Race and Kayla was closely
watching the preparations going on in the water near the Town
Dock. A little too closely. In a flash, the small Westie had
fallen in to the water. And in another instant, her owner Jim
Gay was pulling her out by the handle on her life vest.
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An
embarassing moment.
The judges can attest that no animal was harmed in
the taking of this photo. That’s a handle on the
back of the vest, not a collar Jim's holding her by.
|
Jim Gay
says that’s the first time Kayla has ever fallen in to
the water in her 8-1/2 years. She started sailing as a puppy
and has been all along the NC coast with Jim and Linda Gay and
their daughter Jennifer, in a Tanzer 22 and now a Vancouver
25. In all those years, “Kayla’s been seasick only
twice”, Jim says, “Which is amazing considering
what we sail through.”
Dolphin Training
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Kayla
spots a dolphin
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Kayla
brings a particular skill set to her job as crew, detecting
dolphins long before her owners do. Jim says she’s awakened
them “several times in the middle of the night when we’ve
been anchored. I’ll take her out in to the cockpit and
there will be a huge pod of dolphins feeding around the boat.
We’ll listen to them break the surface and blow all around
us.”
The judges
are told that in more quiet times the command, “Get those
dolphins, Kayla!” sends her racing around the cockpit
in search of them.
Besides
such entertainment, Kayla has other cockpit duties. Linda reports
that Kayla loves to watch the hand line. When the planar trips,
she barks to alert the rest of the crew that there’s a
fish on the line. Jim adds that Kayla “gets really excited
watching the fish flop in the cockpit.”
The Gays
think that she tolerates the boat because she she loves the
water. She will run, they say, “into the Neuse River from
shore as soon as she gets to Oriental”.
| Product
Recommendation: As for that “Handle”
life vest that made it so easy to pull Kayla out of the
water, the Gays recommend it as a quality of life enhancer
on the boat. They use it to dip Kayla in to the water “like
a tea bag” to rinse the sand off of her before putting
her on board. |
Back home
in Apex, NC, away from the water, we are told that Kayla chases
rabbits and deer, digs for moles, plays soccer, sits in her
dog bed by the window and barks at everything that enters her
yard.
| 
Jim
& Kayla discuss world events on the Bean porch
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It should
be said that the judges have not heard her bark (and they are
particularly sensitive to that frequency) so before they do,
they decided to make Kayla the Pet of the Month, having been
witness to the rescue and the ease with which Kayla makes herself
at home in chairs on the porch of the Bean. And we’re
going on Jim’s word that while she may be a lap dog while
at the Bean or on the boat, “at the house she wouldn't
consider sitting in your lap.”
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BIO
ON KAYLA:
Turn Ons: dolphins, fish flopping in the cockpit,
going to shore in the dinghy, digging for moles, getting more
attention then Jennifer, chasing and biting waves along the
shore
Turn Offs: having another dog sniff her butt,
having Jim say, "Get that dolphin, Kayla!" when we
are on the shore, 30 hour boat trips to weather in rough seas
Favorite Meal: I only get dog food! (Iams Lamb
and Rice) with an occasional Cape Lookout clam dipped in garlic
butter.
Last Book Read (or Chewed): Goodnight Moon,
sometimes sits with Jennifer for bedtime stories.
Celebrity
Pet Most Resembles: Carol Channing
What Pet Likes Best About Oriental/Pamlico County:
sitting on the porch of The Bean eating home-made dog biscuits,
freedom to walk right on into the Provision Company with her
owners, being able to walk on sidewalks and streets.
Change Pet Doesn’t Like in Oriental: She used
to like going down the large metal slide that was in the park
on Mildred Street. The Little Tykes plastic slide with the turn
in it just isn't the same.
Previous Pet Of The Month Winners
Miss February
2003 - Zelda
Mr December
2002 - Orville
Mrs/Misses November 2002 - The Ducks
Mr October 2002 - Bear
Miss September 2002 - Lucy
Miss August 2002 - Sally
Know a pet
that is a standout? Send in some details & photo to pet@towndock.net.
Tell us why that pet deserves our coveted Pet of the Month Prize
Package --- accolades, a pat on the head (snakes excluded) and
a box of Milk Bones ( or snack suitable for the species).
Animals
caught near the HarborCam attempting to suck up to the judges
will be disqualified.
