Charlie Brown the dog helps out on the waterways daily with his SeaTow owner.

Local chocolate Lab Charlie Brown may be one of the most famous dogs on the Intracoastal Waterway.

He is the co-captain of Sea Tow Wrightsville Beach along with his owner Capt. Scott Collins. Together the pair patrol the waterways, looking out for any boaters in trouble, which in peak boating season can be as many as 20 boaters a day.

Charlie Brown starts his long days with Collins at Harris Teeter. Scott goes in for a coffee while Charlie Brown waits for a banana patiently outside, where he is often recognized.

"People are always going over to the truck and saying hey to Charlie Brown," Collins said.

While 8-year-old Charlie is the most recognizable Sea Tow employee, Collins said he does have an important job to do. As distressed boaters have a sad ending to their boating day, Charlie Brown jumps on board their boat, gives them kisses and searches the boat for any treats that may be there.

"He keeps everyone calm and happy," Collins said. "When we pull up to someone who needs assistance, they may be in a bad mood or really stressed out because of the situation, but Charlie Brown seems to calm them down, especially if there are kids on board."

Kids seem to love Charlie Brown, and Charlie Brown loves children. Just a few weeks ago Charlie Brown scooped up an entire fudge popsicle from one of the kids in Collins' cul-de-sac.

"He ate the whole thing, stick and all," Collins said, and noted after a vet checkup Charlie passed the fudge popsicle stick just fine.

The dog is a beach dog through and through. He cries at the door begging to go with Collins each morning on their shift, where they idle along slowly patrolling from Scotts Hill all the way to Masonboro Island. Charlie knows all the local swimming holes and absolutely knows all the spots he's likely to get a treat, like Mott's Seafood, where he is fed fish scraps. Just to show how well Charlie knows all the local spots, Collins said he cannot even drive with Charlie in the vicinity of Racine Drive without the dog whimpering and crying. Charlie's favorite place out of the water is Home Depot, where he knows how to work the system and get anyone in an orange apron to give him a treat.

While he doesn't like putting his head underwater, Charlie loves to swim and spends a lot of his time in the water. Many owners boast talk about having "salty dogs" but Charlie is the real deal, eating fish that jump onto the boat, interacting with dolphins and swimming constantly.

"We have white bamboo floors at home and he never really sheds a lot because the salty water is so good for his fur," Collins said. He also looks much younger than other 8-year-old Labs. Collins believes it is because all the physical activity Charlie gets in a day.

For all eight years of his life Charlie has been on the Sea Tow boat, even riding on the dashboard on a towel as a puppy. Collins said his phone is just full of photos of Charlie, standing on the bough of the boat watching for fish and dolphins.

"There is no way I could do this job without him," Collins said. "I just can't even think about it."

Reporter Ashley Morris can be reached at 910-343-2096 or Ashley.Morris@starnewsonline.com