From the moment of casting off in June 1933, Meyer paddled with her Chow Chow Wuffles in the canoe. Although Wuffles was photographed sitting on top of the canoe, the dog usually travelled lying below the spray deck. His formal name was reported to be Wu Pei Fu, which the newspapers said was the contemporary Chinese warlord Wu Peifu's name, meaning (according to the newspapers) "respect demanding friend". The dog was an added liability for Meyer, in that he would waste time by escaping to chase wildfowl and rabbits; on the other hand he fed media publicity and served as a security alert while camping. There was some talk of the dog having been "presented to her when she won the world's canoeing record", but she already possessed him when she began her first circumnavigation attempt in June 1933.
