Farrell: Meet Maggie, the most photographed dog on Hilton Head Island

Maggie Adams might just be the most photographed dog on Hilton Head Island.

I have no way of proving this, of course. Though I did a quick Instagram search of North Forest Beach, where Maggie can usually be found, and of #DogsofHiltonHead just to see for myself.

While she was not in any of the photos that came up -- which were mostly of rainbows, people holding sharks, leashes for sale, and one dog with a blue mohawk (what!) -- I still feel good about making this assertion.

After all, it's not every day people see a surfing dog.

Actually, it's every other day.

People can see a surfing dog every other day if they want.

That's about how often Maggie and her owner, Scott Adams, hit the water on either a paddleboard or a surfboard to get some exercise, have a little fun and relax.

"I keep teasing Scott," said Adams' friend Ken Rioux, the owner of the Soul SUP of Hilton Head Island paddleboard shop who can be credited with turning Maggie and Adams on to this hobby. "There are more people taking pictures of Maggie than anything else on Hilton Head. They gather in groups."

Adams moved from Charlotte to Hilton Head three years ago with Maggie, his wife, Penney, and twin sons Jeff and Alston, who are now 7, to experience a little something called "quality of life."

Yes, yes. We do know our "quality of life" down here, and I'd say it's safe for us to assume that Adams and his surfing Australian shepherd friend have found exactly what they were looking for.

Paddleboarding every other day? Sign me up.

Actually don't.

In theory, I love paddleboarding. When it first became popular, I almost bought a board right away. I even Pinterested the one I wanted. Pink.

I fantasized about after-work gliding on the May River and weekend trips to every beach I could drive to. I thought about how it would look on top of my car. I pictured the independence and tranquility I would experience on the water. I saw myself effortlessly doing the tree pose among circling porpoises.

Then I tried one.

Here's my advice: If you're shaped like a paddleboard, don't get on a paddleboard.

And if you have already convinced yourself that, despite what the Waddell Mariculture Center might say, bull sharks and alligators have been mating in the May River and creating a tenacious and ravenous species of water animal called the bu-shargator, paddleboarding might not be for you.

When I fell off my board and realized I didn't have the upper arm strength to get myself back on it nor, at first, the indignity to hurl myself up and out of the water because of what that might look and sound like to others, all I had to do was see things through the eyes of the now-bibbed bu-shargator.

"Finally, a paddleboarder with no core strength!"

I panicked.

When Maggie falls off her board, however, she gets back on, no problem.

And she rolls her eyes at the possibility of bu-shargators.

Adams first started bringing Maggie on the board with him because, well, she insisted.

"She would jump on the paddleboard," he said. "It was just a natural thing."

Maggie used to be a farm dog, but then Adams' wife let her sleep in their bed.

As a dog owner, I know this is the End of Everything.

"Oh, everything changed then," he laughed. "She became a house dog then."

When the Adamses moved to Hilton Head, they discovered that Maggie was really into the whole water scene.

She likes the dolphins, the pelicans. She's a strong swimmer who does laps just for fun. She loves to surf. Sometimes even on her own.

"She's gotten really good," Rioux said. "She knows when to keep her head up. She knows what to do. She's really relaxed out there."

And she looks great doing it.

Now, before you decide you want your dog to supplant Maggie as the Most Photographed Dog on Hilton Head, Rioux said there are a few things you need to consider before putting your best friend on a board.

In other words, don't just bring your dog out there and start posing for the camera.

First, you need to be a decent paddleboarder with experience in different water conditions.

Second, you need to know your dog, which should be young, agile and a good swimmer.

Rioux used to bring his Pug-Corgi mix Lydia out there with him, but Lydia is 16 years old.

"Her nerves can't handle it anymore," he said.

Third, you should get a very buoyant board and have it outfitted with paw pads so the dog can get a good grip.

Finally, you should practice on flat water so you can find out how your dog feels about the situation.

"If he's just going to jump off all the time, it's not going to work out," Rioux said.

Oh. And reward your dog afterward.

"(Maggie) gets a big bone after," Adams said. "Then she takes a nap."

Follow columnist and senior editor Liz Farrell at twitter.com/elizfarrell and facebook.com/elizfarrell.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Farrell: Meet Maggie, the most photographed dog on Hilton Head Island."