Happy New Year to all our 2 and 4-legged friends!! All of us at Planet Dog wish you a happy and healthy 2013. This month's Blog Post comes from Planet Dog's longest-serving employee, Jeff Cloutier. Jeff has been with us for 11 years, and has done every job in the company at one point or another. Currently, Jeff is our Director of Sourcing and Product Development, and his dog Fletch is the Director of Welcoming and Vocal Greetings. Enjoy!
"January is “National Walk Your Pet Month”, and what a great
opportunity it presents for pet owners to not only get out and get healthy with
your best friend (or friends), but to share some of your favorite places to
romp & exercise. Even as we experience below-freezing temperatures here in Maine, we still need to get out of the house and exercise ourselves and our pets.
Living in Freeport,
Maine, presents plenty of
opportunities for me and my 6 year old buddy Fletcher to get out and stretch
our legs. Freeport offerings range from the up & down
trails on Bradbury and Hedgehog
Mountains, to the easy
flat trails of Pownal Field, and even downtown in Freeport Village for some people
watching. However, our favorite area to
investigate is just a few minutes walk from LL Bean’s Flagship Store, at Leon Gorman
Park.
Donated to the town by Planet Dog's long-time partner and supporter LL Bean, this small park encompasses a ravine and features a .5 mile loop trail with wooded bridges, picnic tables & benches, and, in the winter, a skating pond. Fletch always enjoys all the different smells of the squirrels, chipmunks, and other dogs that make their way through the park, and in warmer weather,the stream is a perfect place to grab a quick drink!
Although not too large, the park is a beautiful sanctuary in
the middle of bustling Freeport, and if you’d like to extend your walking
adventure you can head towards the Village for the aforementioned people
watching and window shopping. If you head away from the Village and cross
Bow Street there is a nice trail that winds through the woods and ends up at
the Mast Landing School.
I always finish up our walk with a visit to the Bow Street Market, which is right next to the park and features lots of locally made munchies and drink offerings to help take the chill off after our brisk January walk.
Where do you enjoy walking with your best friend(s)? What inspires you to get out and walk on even the coldest January days? Share with us your favorite spots, and have a great January!"
I love hiking with my dogs - best thing for stress relief!
Sounds like you have a great employee - 11 years is a long time.
All the best
Mary
Posted by: Mary | January 26, 2013 at 11:17 PM
Fortunately, the winters down in the South are much milder than what you guys have to go through in Maine. My parents live on a large lake in Alabama. The water is always lowered in the winter and we enjoy walking the dogs on the sand. We also keep a look out for arrowheads and have found a couple over the last few years:) Enjoyed your blog.
Posted by: David | February 03, 2013 at 11:36 PM