But not any old dog. Oscar is a magnificent golden retriever who somehow coped happily with being cooped up on the 54ft ketch Seafever of Cuan, skippered by Trevor Lusty of Strangford Lough, who has just been awarded the Irish Cruising Club's historic Faulkner Cup for the best voyaging of the year.
The star of this 'Oscar-winning' performance was Oscar himself. The further that Seafever sailed south on this fine cruise to France, Spain, the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, West Africa , the Cape Verde islands, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, the more exotic Oscar appeared.
In countries where fantastic tropical animals are 10-a-penny, a handsome, good-tempered Irish golden retriever was as startling as a giraffe on Grafton Street. And Oscar revelled in the attention. In every port, he was the focus of dozens of cameras.
As for his skipper, Lusty has only been an ICC member since 2004, but despite his limited experience, it was clear that this is an inspirational seafarer.
