Tailed officer: cruise ship passengers are protected and entertained by a dog - an official employee of Royal Caribbean
Golden retriever Rover is the "chief canine officer" on the Icon of thr Seas cruise ship. The position was created in collaboration with animal welfare experts at the American Humane Society to delight passengers sailing on the world's largest cruise ship, writes USA Today.

Фото: Depositphotos
Two-year-old Rover, a crew member on Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas, spends a typical day walking around the ship, shaking hands with guests and chasing a ball.
In general, she behaves like any normal dog.
Maia Marques Trindade is originally from Brazil and has been with Royal Caribbean since 2019. Previously working with the Adventure Ocean Kids Club, she was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Rover.
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She has been working with this pet for a year now. According to her, the dog has not yet grown out of puppyhood. Maya told us how she and Rover spend a typical day.
"I wake up at about the same time as Rover because I have to take her for a walk. Then we have training, playtime, and activities. I make sure she is a 'good girl' and sometimes we learn new tricks. I also pay attention to physical exercise because Golden Retrievers are very energetic dogs. There are areas on the ship (like the helipad or empty rooms) where I can play with her, throw a ball. It's both exercise and play.
Then I take her out to socialize with our guests and crew. I try to spend time with both, because Rover makes their day.
She is very friendly and sociable, loves to sniff people, spend time with them, show her tricks, for example, giving a paw. She is so cute!
I also make sure the dog gets enough rest. She needs more sleep than people. So before I go out to the passengers again, I need to be sure she has had a good night's sleep."
@royalcaribbean Part 9: Living on #IconoftheSeas 🐾 Meet Rover, Chief Dog Officer and family dog on board for Icon's crew. Follow ChiefDogRover on Instagram to keep up with her adventures! @Erica From America #RoyalCaribbean #BTS #Cruise ♬ original sound — Royal Caribbean
Maya says that she and Rover walk around the entire ship and can appear in any part of it to surprise the passengers and crew.
“The amount of time she spends with people depends on Rover’s mood. I need to make sure she is well rested and playful. If she has the energy to play with people and be friendly, I take her out for short visits and then give her breaks. I avoid large crowds because her well-being is more important. But we try to surprise guests in every part of the ship, while avoiding crowded areas and food areas.”
Rover's training continues all the time because dogs love to learn new things.
“Right now I just need to keep her good behavior up because our training is focused on obedience, calmness and following commands. We expect to have a lot of kids on board, so it’s important to us that she’s calm around them and listens to my commands. Tricks are a nice bonus because they’re cute. Rover can roll over, give a paw. I recently taught her to put away her toys: she picks them up and puts them in a box. But behavior is more important to us. We want everyone to enjoy their time with her.
I spend the whole day with Rover and sometimes I forget how special she is. But for some guests, the opportunity to play with the dog becomes something special, and it is very touching. Some bring her gifts.
The team also loves our pet. One of the cleaning staff once said: 'I don't even have to pet Rover or go near her. Just seeing her walking down the hall makes my day.' It's so nice to hear that from people."
Rover also visits the family suites, where she plays with the children under Maya's supervision. When the ship is at anchor, the dog also goes ashore for a walk.
"Her favorite place is Perfect Day at CocoCay because she can run on the beach there. Rover tumbles, digs in the sand, rolls in it, swims (she is an excellent swimmer). After the walk, I bathe my charge and put her to bed."
On the ship, Rover, like all retrievers, loves to play with a ball the most.
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"When I'm in the crew areas playing with her, I let the crew throw the ball and spend some time with Rover," Maya noted. "Of course, I get to spend the longest time with our favorite because we share a cabin, but I try to share her company with everyone on our ship.
Sometimes I have guests who have recently lost their pets. When they see Rover, they start crying or getting worried. At those moments, I feel like I'm doing an important job when I bring her to people.
One day we were walking around the center of the ship and Rover was interacting with the passengers. Suddenly I noticed a little girl who was crying loudly. I went up to her mother and asked if everything was okay, because I thought the child was afraid of dogs. So I offered to take Rover away so that she wouldn't come close. But her mother said, 'No, no, everything is okay. Our dog, very similar to yours, died this morning.'
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Then I brought Rover closer to them and asked her to give the girl her paw. I will never forget how the child began to laugh when the dog's paw touched the child's palm!
Rover is an ordinary dog who does nothing to please, but he touches people's hearts."
Royal Caribbean is set to expand its canine ranks soon. The company plans to introduce another pet named Sailor on its Star of the Seas ship, which launches this year.
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