Pet's pass-pawt: Wonder-dog Skipper travels the world with owner Jon
He's sailed on a 54ft yacht to the Caribbean where he caught lobster with his bare teeth, sat astride a Harley Davidson at a biker festival in the south of France and been banned from the Mount Blanc pétanque competition for interfering with the balls.
Meet Skipper, the mischievous Jack Russell who just might be the region's most well-travelled dog.
Over the last decade he has undertaken transatlantic flights and sailed thousands of miles on numerous trips to the far-flung corners of the world.
He and his travelling partner Jon Taylor, aged 48, have recently returned from their latest holiday, a nine-week European tour by van that took in France, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra and Spain.
"He's a fantastic travelling companion," said Mr Taylor, who lovingly refers to 10-year-old Skipper as 'my little lad'. "He'll eat anything – including a nice bit of steak – and gets on with everyone.
"I suppose a lot of people wouldn't consider taking their dog everywhere, but Skipper showed he could easily adapt to any situation from the moment I had him."
Skipper's first venture abroad came not long after Mr Taylor had taken him on as a puppy.
The pair flew to the Canary Islands in 2008 and from there sailed on Mr Taylor's 54ft (16.5m) Hallberg-Rassy yacht to Rodney Bay in the Caribbean island of St Lucia.
Mr Taylor said Skipper took to travelling 'like a duck to water'. "He loved it straight away," said Mr Taylor, a property developer who is also a commercial skipper.
"I put a patch of astro-turf around the mast for him to do his business and he was right at home. Because the yacht was a decent size he had plenty of room to stretch his legs and he absolutely loved the water.
"He taught himself how to catch lobsters with his teeth and he had a go on a paddle board. I've struggled to get him off it since."
In 2011, the duo embarked on a boat trip from Falmouth to the Azores and spent five months sailing around the coast of Portugal.
This summer they ditched the yacht and loaded up a silver VW Camper van for a European adventure.
Accompanied by Mr Taylor's partner, Frances, the intrepid travellers went through the Channel Tunnel and passed through the champagne region of France before heading into Switzerland and on to Mont Blanc.
"He caused a few problems during the local boules competition," recalled Mr Taylor, chuckling.
"At one point he ran onto the playing area and ended up getting banned for interfering with play. They take their pétanque very seriously over there but I think they saw the funny side of it."
Skipper then proved a star turn at a biker rally in the French beach town of Cap d'Agde, posing for pictures with bikers while sitting on a Harley. He also fetched some holy water in Lourdes, chased around after birds of prey at a Medieval festival in Andorra and ran around the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
But despite all the fun and frolics, Mr Taylor, who lives in Weston-under-Lizard, said travelling with Skipper can be an expensive and often complicated endeavour.
During flights Skipper is placed in the hold, at a cost £750 for a flight to the Canary Islands and over £1,000 for transatlantic. Before departing he is inspected at St George's Vets in Wolverhampton, where any injections that are required are also administered.
He then has to be looked at again on his return to the UK. For long haul flights a dog passport is required. When we sailed to St Lucia he couldn't get off the boat until a local vet had come and given him the once over," Mr Taylor recalled. "It was the same every time we sailed into a new port. It's a strange situation as he is classed as a livestock import and once he sets foot on land he is deemed a resident of that particular country.
"In other places, such as Morocco, he stays on the boat because he has to go in quarantine if he enters the country. It is a costly and time consuming process, so I tend to research the places we plan to visit."
According to Mr Taylor a tour of Scandinavia on a large adventure motorbike is next on the agenda. "He is like an extension to my family and he'll always be part of my travel plans," he said. "I have two daughters but I probably treat him like he is human. We'll need to get a special box made for him so he can fit on the motorbike, and if it goes well then who knows, maybe we'll take on Route 66."
