Hundreds of tributes have been paid to Nak the Glenelg-Skye ferry dog who passed away last Friday.
The border collie, known to thousands for his antics aboard the MV Glenachulish, has died peacefully at home on the croft aged 15, after more than a decade of service aboard the seasonal ferry.
Heartbroken owners Glynis and Donald “Donavan” MacDonald, from Glenelg, said they were overwhelmed with just how many people have been in touch with them to offer their condolences.
‘He was loved from the moment he was born’
Nak was named after Celtic player Shunsuke Nakamura and he was born in Glenelg on January 2 2007.
Mrs MacDonald said: “He was loved from the moment he was born. There were three in the litter, and one of them died. He had a sister who went to live in Applecross. I believe by sheer co-incidence that she may have passed away the day before Nak.
“Nak loved everybody and he was a very nosey dog. He loved adults, and he really loved children. He would even have his face in the pram to look at babies.”
She continued: “When his granddaughter had puppies, he was the one that needed to look after them. He liked to run about with them and teach them tricks.
“He had been failing for a long time. The vet came to the house last June to have him put to sleep – but Nak ran away, he wasn’t ready to go then. He clearly still had things that he wanted to do.
“He was great on the croft with the sheep and the cows, but it was when he was on the ferry that people started to notice him, and to love him as much as we did.”
‘The boss’
Mr MacDonald, skipper of the Glenelg ferry, said that they had a special name for Nak.
He said: “We called him ‘the boss’. I worked four days on, four days off and when Nak wasn’t there the passengers were disappointed. They would be asking ‘where is the dog?’.
“He used to pull the rope for the ferry. After some lessons from the crewman he taught himself how to pull the rope up onto the boat. The passengers just loved to see him do it.
“He then went round and checked all the passengers, and when we arrived at Kylerhea he would check that we had put the pin in place to stop the ferry turning. Yes, he was the boss right enough.”
Mr MacDonald added: “He loved the people on the ferry and being on look-out duties for seals. He was a very busy dog aboard the boat. He loved it.”
Mr MacDonald said that sometimes when things didn’t go as Nak had planned, he would stand on the pier and howl – loudly. A sound that could be heard for miles around.
He said: “Sometimes if we went to Kylerhea on Skye first, or if he had got the scent of a bitch and we didn’t wait for him, he would sit on the pier and howl for us to come back.
“People from Kylerhea would joke ‘did you leave Nak behind?’ We could hear him for miles.”
In his spare time, of which there was very little between his farm work and ferry duties, Nak liked to pick huge stones out of the river bed and have someone throw them back into the water for him.
Nak’s grandson ‘Wee Spots’, aged two, has for the last two seasons been learning the ropes aboard the ferry.
While Mr and Mrs MacDonald said nothing will replace ‘the boss’, Wee Spots is already taking a keen interest in the sailing season. The ferry will sail again in March.
What are people saying?
After a message was posted on Facebook more than 200 people have left messages of condolence.
Nici Jay said: “Once met, never forgotten.
“RIP Nak, may the shipping lane over the rainbow be as beautiful as your place here on earth was.”
Tineke Strijbosch said: “In 2016 I met Nak, so sad to hear this.
“I wish you all the best. Rest in peace Nak. Lots of love from Holland.”
Another, Sue Weeks said: “What an amazing dog he was. I have a picture of him in my kitchen. Bet he is in homes all over the world.”
Where is the Glenelg to Skye ferry
The Glenelg – Skye Ferry Company operates the last manually operated turntable ferry in existence.
The MV Glenachulish was built in 1969.
She was originally built to serve between the narrows of Ballachulish and Onich.
When the Ballachulish Bridge was built prior she was relocated to Glenelg in the 1980s.
Today, the ferry remains a vital link for residents on either side of the Glenelg and Kylerhea, Skye crossing.
There has been a car ferry service crossing the Kylerhea straits since 1934. However, as the closest point to the Isle of Skye the area has been a crossing point for hundreds of years.
People come from all over the world to visit the ferry. With one couple even getting hitched aboard the vessel.
Travelling on the the Glenachulish is a great experience, but as she is more than 50-years old maintenance of the vessel can be expensive.
A fundraiser was set up in 2019 to help fund repairs of the boat.