An adorable pooch is living onboard a boat with its owners and sailing the ocean after she was no longer able to become a trained service dog.
Hannah Patten, 24, from Florida, US, and her partner and boat captain, John Garza, 35, left their old lives behind to live on the ocean with their four-legged companion Coral.
The three-year-old Golden Retriever was supposed to be a guide dog for the visually impaired, but an eye condition prevented her from becoming a working dog.
Now, instead of working full-time as a service dog, she gets to spend her time swimming and relaxing in the sunshine, which isn't such a hard life after all.
Hannah described Coral as a “sweet and loving but with attitude and spunk."
"She puts up with a lot being on the boat and I think she loves the water more than John and myself," she said.
“I adopted her at six weeks old and the first time I tried to get her to swim she hated it, but she loved the boat. So I knew it was only a matter of time for her to realise how fun it is."
Hannah is the founder of a sustainable swimwear brand and John is a wildlife photographer and free diver, but despite working constantly they wouldn’t change anything about their lives on the water.
Like many couples who convert to this new lifestyle, the early days were challenging. However, they have learned to adapt and make the most of every possibility this new way of living provides them, and of course, Coral too.
She added: “It was tough at first, him being my boss and my boyfriend, but we’ve figured out how to work with each other and in return, it’s made our relationship stronger.
“I’m obsessed with the ocean, it’s what makes me feel happy and free. I knew that I had to make my life around the ocean, or I would have been miserable. I met John and everything just fell into place.”
However, the star of the show will always be Coral who is living the dream, sunbathing, and having leisurely swims.
Hannah said: “Oh my gosh, people think it’s absolutely nuts that she dives, and she honestly just picked it up that’s the best part.
"I think she’s watched us dive so much so she’s like I don’t want to be left out."
