Our dog, Corey, (a lab and Akita mix) was raised from a puppy by my stepson in Boston and began spending long visits with us in Maine when she was two years old. By the time she was five she was with us most of the year and went back to Boston for visits. Although she is well adapted to city life, visiting with us in the country has always been a special treat. Now, the lucky pup lives with us full time!

In the spring we take her on the five-mile walk around the shoreline of Sears Island in Searsport. Connected to the mainland by a causeway, the undeveloped island is a favorite spot for dog walkers. Corey loves to run into the ocean chasing the ducks and seagulls.

In the summer and fall we pack a picnic and go on longer hikes with her along portions of the Appalachian Trail. Corey, an alpha-female, always takes the lead on the trail and loves to look down on us from a rock perch above as we struggle up the steeper inclines. Some trails pass a lake or pond where she can take a swim to cool off.

In the winter we showshoe with her through our 20 acres of wooded land. Corey leaps through the deep snow like a deer and once we have packed down a trail with our snowshoes she will race ahead of us, staying on our path.