row2k Features
Photo Poll - Favorite Boathouse Dog (Collegiate)
September 24, 2015
Adam Bruce, row2k.com

If you have spent any amount of time at a boathouse, you have probably come across at least one boathouse dog. They can be seen riding along in a launch or keeping the geese off of the docks or simply taking a nap while you erg. Back in 2009 row2k featured a photo poll of boathouse dogs. It has been a few years and now it is time for the next generation of boathouse dogs to work their way into the spotlight.

Based on the following criteria, the fifteen collegiate finalist are listed below with the poll at the bottom of the page:
• Photo of the Dog (preferably at the boathouse)
• Dog's Name
• Boathouse/Club Affiliation
• Short description of why your boathouse dog is the best.

The 2015 favorite collegiate boathouse dog winner is Opie from Harvard Radcliffe! The complete results can be found below.

Anna Belle
UGA Rowing
Anna Belle UGA Rowing Anna Belle is a beautiful 3 year old husky/beagle mix. She loves going to practices and regattas in addition to supporting team fundraisers on campus (especially involving bake sales). She has been coming with me to practices since I first started coaching in 2013, preferring either the front of the launch, or sometimes riding with the coxswain. She loves people, and also enjoys hiking, sticks, and tug-of-war with anyone that will play with her. She has even filled in as a rower for post-race medal pictures for some of our men's boats. .

Daphne, Jack, and Nalu
Humboldt State University
These three provide Humboldt State University with some much needed puppy therapy. Whether it's Oh' dark and early or raining after a particularly challenging practice, they are always there, ready to give any girl some love. They put in the time, and energy, just like our girls and we wouldn't be who we are without it! They even make us laugh with their frolicking antics, especially when Daphne pushes Nalu in the bay. Please vote for our three dogs, and if you see them at a west coast race, feel free to come get your own cuddle. Calvin also plays fetch with any stick there is. Calvin is so pressed for sticks that sometimes he shows up with a woodchip, you have to say, "Calvin, thats not a stick, get a BETTER stick!" Then he comes back with a whole tree limb. He'll even run and jump over rowing shells on the dock to get to a stick in the water. Also, he loves the boathouse so much that when Terry is on a trip and Calvin can't come to the boathouse, he sits at home very sad and doesn't play, will only come up from his basement to eat and never barks. Calvin lives for the boathouse and is happiest when he's there.

Darwin
Colgate University
Darwin is the best boathouse dog because he helps keep my novice rowers excited about practice even when we are rowing by pairs on the square!

Emmy
Indiana University
Emmy...short for short for Princess Empacher Bootswerft. She was a reward for the team making it to the 2014 NCAA's in Indianapolis and obviously named after the shells

Grace Ruby & Georgia Rose
Drake University Rowers
Aka brown dog, white dog. For 10 years now they have greeted the Drake University Rowers at the boathouse each morning and then settle in the bow of the launch where they offer their valued observations as to how the practice is going.

Hadley
Marquette University Rowing Club
Known as the assistant to the assistant, Hadley has been at the boathouse since we brought her home at 8 weeks old. In her short 1.5 years, Hadley has traveled to many races and has spent her first Spring Break in Oak Ridge for a week of water training. Hadley loves sunning herself in the launch during long pieces and defending it from any opposing team or geese. Hadley loves to help Mom, aka Coach Bri, cox her team through their 6ks/2ks by adding in a bark after every number in power 20s, but her absolute favorite thing is watching starting sequences - when she sees her girls sitting at the catch, she knows something special is about to happen. Hadley has even fallen in the river while jumping and barking to congratulate her team on a good performance.

Halima
San Diego State University
My faithful launch companion of the last 13 years, Halima (Hali from the alley). I know there are many worthy candidates for BBD 2015, but please allow me to illustrate why I feel this loveable little pit bull deserves to be named BBD 2015. Hali brings a world of experience to the title of BBD 2015. She is not merely a canine sidekick in the launch. Hali's experience in the world of rowing is expansive. It is the scope and breadth of her time spent in the sport that makes her so deserving of this honor. Hali has been by my side in the launch at every program I have coached. In fact, she came into my life as a gift from the very first group of juniors that I coached at Tempe Junior Crew in Tempe, AZ. Hali was there when I coached the masters and adaptive rowers of Rio Salado Rowing Club and the club team at Arizona State University as well. However, that is just the beginning. Her impact on the world of rowing expands far beyond the borders of the Grand Canyon State. Hali has made many long, cross-country, boat hauling road trips with me across the I-40 and up and down the I-5 and I-95 corridors. Hali has lent her very special brand of "moral support" to countless rowers over the years. Whether it was at the IDR in Philadelphia, the USRowing Youth Nationals at Lake Harsha, US Junior Sculling Dev Camp at GMS or one of the countless other races or camps across the nation that she attended, she has always been ready and willing to support rowers, both young and old, of all abilities. She has confidently escorted athletes of all abilities and ages to the dock before the big race. She has provided her belly to be rubbed as a welcome distraction for those athletes with pre-race jitters and she always greeted them with a warm wet kiss after the race, regardless of their finishing place. This last year Hali had to accept that she was just getting too old for all of the travel. While she was not initially thrilled with the idea of retirement, she has taken it in stride and has somewhat reluctantly resigned herself to her new life of relaxation and leisure. She relishes in the occasional visits from alumni that come to see us during the holidays and on those very rare occasions that she can get on the launch with me she breaths in the moment, soaks up the sights and sounds (those that she can still see and hear) and then curls up for a nap as she is lulled to sleep by the hum of the engine and the rhythmic sounds of the shells gliding next to her.

Mattie
Wisconsin Women
Trying to teach me that a look can be worth a thousand words.

Opie
Harvard Radcliffe
Opie is the assistant to the assistant coaches at Harvard and Radcliffe rowing; he splits his time between Newell and Weld. His favorite daily activities include eating, growling at bulldogs, licking the grill, sleeping in the head coach's chair, playing with Joe the boatman, sneaking into the women's locker room, chasing turtles off the dock, and eating. He coaches twice a day, and loves riding on the edge of the launch, but hates to swim. If he's being really naughty, he'll escape under the boathouse to chase bunnies (out of reach of the other coaches).

Pinky
University of Virginia
While many dogs have been to the boathouse, only one has fearlessly commandeered everyone's hearts. Pinky has reigned the boathouse since he was a mere pup. He patrols the premises; keeping the waterfowl at bay, barking at lawn mowers, and capturing any water bottle he can to stay hydrated. He also makes sure that the rowers stay focused on circuits by attacking them with licks. When he's not making his rounds Pinky can be found on the river. Pinky constantly pushes to the very edge of his limits and helps all the rowers do the same!.

Renzo
University of Michigan Men
A member of Head Coach Gregg Hartsuff's family, Renzo has been a favorite boathouse staple for the University of Michigan Men's Rowing Team since 2012. His face has a quality unmatched by any other.

Reynolds
Franklin & Marshall College
Reynolds might get a bit tired during the long rows in prep for big races but having him at practice while the college athletes miss their dogs at home gives them a dog away from home to love! He's there after every hard work out to provide endless joy with his energetic personality - for Reynolds, every day is a gift!

Sunny
Wisconsin Lightweight Women
He always goes full pressure when looking for ducks and hates jumpies.

Tucker
Nova Southeastern University
Named after former U.S. lightweight sculling stud Steve Tucker, this handsome guy was destined to be a rowing aficionado. Tucker helps out around the boathouse in anyway he can. He keeps our boats safe by destroying every coconut he find floating in the Intracoastal Waterway. He keeps Mangoes, the boathouse cat, in excellent fitness and fighting shape by furtively skimming the excess food from her bowl. And he cheers on our rowers with a robust howl riding back to the dock at the end of every practice.

Yuna
Boston College Men
Yuna is the official office dog of the Head Of The Charles Regatta. She also doubles as an assistant coach for the Boston College Men's team. Each morning she helps clear geese off the docks, helps rowers clean sweat off their faces after workouts, and then heads over to the HOCR office where she keeps an eye on rowers coming around the Eliot turn.

Row2k Polls

Favorite Boathouse Dog (Collegiate)

2670 Votes

Opie
 20.6%
Anna Belle
 13.9%
Reynolds
 10.6%
Pinky
  9.3%
Yuna
  8.4%
Emmy
  7.6%
Renzo
  5.4%
Tucker
  4.2%
Daphne, Jack, and Nalu
  3.7%
Halima
  3.4%
Darwin
  3.3%
Mattie
  3.2%
Grace Ruby & Georgia Rose
  2.8%
Hadley
  2.1%
Sunny
  1.5%
past row2k polls
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