If you have ever walked past popular locals pub The Exmouth Arms, it's more likely than not that you will have been greeted with the sight of its unmissable golden retriever dog Charlie sitting contentedly looking out of the window. He is now as much of a renowned part of the pub as the banter that goes on between the customers who regularly congregate there.
He is the beloved pet of pub landlords Barry and Laura White who bought the pub in the seaside town of Exmouth six months ago. However, their history at the watering hole dates far further back than that, particularly Barry who began drinking there when he was 18 years old.
The former bricklayer swapped building sites for life working behind the bar at The Exmouth Arms when he was 28-years-old after admitting he was never a particularly good tradesman and it was hard graft. Instead, he has excelled in the hospitality industry and after 11 years of running the pub and living there, he and Laura bought the pub from their former boss and have no plans to make any changes.
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Loving now being in charge, Barry said: "It's very nice not to have a boss, even though he was brilliant and left me completely alone. The money is also better, obviously!
"I absolutely love being the pub's landlord. I love all the customers. It's like being with your mates all of the time. It's a very locals pub; everyone in here knows everyone and they are all brilliant and help each other out.
"I wouldn't want to run a different sort of pub. It's quite a small pub because you can only fit 100 people in it, but it makes it more personal. There's probably a ratio of five to one of blokes to females and most are tradesmen so we have a lot of banter in here.
"We get a mix of ages but the majority are probably aged in their 40s to 60s. I'm only just turning 40 myself but have been coming in here for 25 years so I was always the youngest person in here."
Although Barry would like to think it's his and Laura's warm welcome customers like to come in to receive, he knows there's no competing with their pub-loving dog Charlie who they have had since he was a puppy. He is now nearly eight years old and is so well-known in the town that an ode to him from 'an admirer' was recently posted on Exmouth's community Facebook page.
It was liked by more than 1,000 people and stated: "Dear golden retriever at The Exmouth Arms, I pass the window of the pub most days. On the days that you walk by and you're sitting on your chair watching the world go by you make my world a much brighter place.
"One day I'll come in and have a drink in the hope we can meet in person."
Barry says the post brought some new people into the pub wanting to meet Charlie. He is said to spend most of his time in the day ,when not on dog walks, sat in the pub enjoying attention from customers or getting in their way.
Barry said: "Charlie is very, very popular all over Exmouth. If you're walking along Exeter Road you can see him as he's often sitting on the chairs looking out the window.
"In the pub no one feeds him but he gets around the pub and everyone nearly trips over him when he lies on the middle of the floor. He loves attention and as we've had him since a puppy, all he has known is the pub and people doting on him."
The pub is also well-known for being a 'proper' pub and staying true to its 200-year-old history. It changed its name from The Exmouth Inn to The Exmouth Arms in 1963 and has been prone to flooding over the years but measures are now in place to keep the spring high tide away from the door.
Barry says they are now one of only a few traditional pubs left in the town that have not been modernised which is now working in their favour.
Barry said: "If you look at Exmouth over the 20 years, nearly all of the pubs have turned more into bars selling cocktails and wines. That's great but now they're in competition with each other and there's not much competition among the old school pubs which is brilliant for us. Luckily we are hugely well supported by locals."
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The pub does not serve food. It is entirely wet-led and boasts a darts and pool team. A weekly euchre card game group also meet there. At weekends the pub is devoted to showing sport but also hosts DJs and live music on special occasions.
Barry said: "People come in here to take the mickey out of each other, have a natter and watch sport. It's just a simple old-school pub."
