Gracie's Bark | Pet Friendly Resource

Thank You Gracie from Powerless Connecticut

Kelly and Lexi contacted Gracie's Bark to share their experience visiting pet friendly Dartmouth Massachusetts due to power outages in Connecticut caused by a surprise winter storm.

Gracie's Bark wanted to share their pet friendly thank you note. We were thrilled Kelly and Lexi had an opportunity to explore pet friendly beaches and pet friendly trails in beautiful Dartmouth Massachusetts. 

"Hi – Thanks to your posts, I will give Slocum River reserve a visit tomorrow.  I am staying at the Marriott Residence inn in North Dartmouth with my daughter, her friend, and my trusty buddy Lexi while we wait for power & heat to be restored back home in Connecticut.  We found Gooseberry Island by dumb luck today, then moved on to Horseneck beach.  Both great spots, in all our opinions!" said Kelly & Lexi on November 1, 2011.

We contacted Kelly again this week to thank her for sharing her story and asked her if it was okay for us to put her wonderful comments on our bark blog and she responded: 

"Oh sure!  I was thrilled that Dartmouth was so dog friendly, and to find all the DNRT properties--they have almost an embarrassment of riches!  We visited Horseneck Beach three times, Gooseberry Island, Destruction Brook, Slocum's River, Smith Farm, Round Hill Beach, and the Ridge Reserves (not sure I recall that name correctly--at Collins Corner).  Our forced vacation from powerless Connecticut turned out to be pleasant after all!"

We hope they come back and visit us again soon! 

Have you visited the Southcoast area of pet friendly Massachusetts recently?

If so, we would love to hear more about your pet friendly stories. If not, you and your dog should plan a visit!

Gracie's Bark would be happy to help you find the perfect pet friendly adventure. Email us anytime at: [email protected] 

Gracie checking out Gooseberry Island in Westport Massachusetts after Hurricane Irene

Gracie and I finally had a chance to visit Gooseberry Island in Westport Massachusetts today to see what damage Hurricane Irene caused.

All things considered, our favorite island stood up to Irene and won! Of course there are rocks, big and small, that have been tossed around a bit and it looks like the ocean came up very high on the island, but Gooseberry still stands beautiful as always! What happened during Hurricane Irene was nothing that a little bulldozer couldn't fix. There were a couple of big rocks out of place on the causeway and some piles of sand here and there. Hopefully, the causeway will be open to traffic tomorrow. The clean-up crew was basically done once we left. There is a boat that washed ashore during the storm on the island. Gracie knew it was out of place! She kept barking at it. 

The town was still cleaning up today, but we were able to park up at the top of the causeway and walk down to the island. Gracie and I spent over 2 hours there enjoying our favorite place.

We took lots of photos and really enjoyed our peaceful walk around the island. It is a bit rockier than usually in many spots, but still one of the most beautiful places on earth in our eyes! Don't forget to watch our short video too!

We took all the photos taken today and put them into a short video. We also added some photos someone else had took earlier this week over at Westport Town Beach. It's amazing how powerful the ocean can be! The road running along Westport Town Beach remains closed indefinitely. There is quite a mess to clean up over there. 

 

Gracie's Pet Friendly Adventure to Westport Farms in Westport Massachusetts

This past weekend we headed over to Westport Town Farm in Westport, Massachusetts to explore the 1 mile pet friendly trail. It was beauitful and we highly recommend it! 

Take the time to visit Westport Town Farm and explore what this historic landscape has to offer by taking the easy, 1-mile trail from the barnyard, which follows a charming farm lane along stonewall-lined paddocks. As the trail crosses hillside pastures, it affords an expansive view of the East Branch of the Westport River then skirts the 10-acre hayfield before returning along the farm lane to the barnyard.

In the fall of 2008, The Trustees initiated a Community Gardens project that honors the Town Farm's tradition of helping to feed people in need in Westport and nearby towns. 

Gracie had a great time and wanted to share some photos with all of you!

Do you know of any dog parks or other dog friendly locations you would like to share with Gracie's Bark? Email us anytime at [email protected]. We'd love to hear a "bark" back from all our friends in New England and beyond.

Rock On, Rock On! Gracie's Best Kept Secret at Gooseberry Island

As Gracie and I were enjoying our favorite pet friendly place (Gooseberry Island) the other day, we came across one of Gooseberry's best kept secrets, the beautiful art of rock balancing! We walk at Gooseberry Island a couple of times per week. It's only on a rare and special occasion we encounter these beautiful rock creations. We've written about them once before (Rock Balancing). It's by pure chance when we get to experience this beautiful work of art. Gooseberry Island really is a pet friendly hidden gem!

We even ran into a beautiful sand castle the very same day. Our beach walk was quite a treat!!

Gracie wanted to share some swimming photos too. She loves her evening summer swims over at Gooseberry.

We also want to let you all know that seaweed has taken over the island recently. It's probably best to wait until September to head over for an adventure with your pup. The fall season is our favorite! The island is absolutely beautiful and refreshing during autumn.

Don't forget to share your favorite pet friendly spots. We'd love to hear about them on Gracie's Bark! Email us anytime at [email protected].

Gracie's Memorial Day Weekend Swim

Gracie had her first swim of 2011 over at Gooseberry Island this past weekend. We still enjoyed ourselves even though the sun was struggling to break through all the fog!

 

We'd love to for all our friends in the Southcoast and beyond to share photos of their dogs swimming at the beach or even in a pool!  Email is anytime at: [email protected]

 

Gracie Enjoying a Spring Walk at Gooseberry Island

Gracie and I had a fun-filled walk on Saturday over at Gooseberry Island in Westport, MA.

Gracie had a spring in her step and water on the brain! 

The water was crystal clear and quite cold but Gracie did not seem to mind at all. She had a blast fetching shells and climbing on rocks. 

Gracie and I usually go for our walks over at Gooseberry Island in the morning hours, but today we ended up walking over there in the afternoon. We saw a lot of dogs and their owners enjoying the beautiful spring weather. 

I ended up with a very tired and happy dog. Look at this smile!

What did you and your dog do this weekend? Tell us about it and/or send us a picture! Email us at [email protected] 

Don't forget to check out our Gooseberry Island Adventure video too!

 

What do Gracie and Rock Balancing have in common?

As Gracie and I were enjoying our favorite pet friendly place (Gooseberry Island) the other day, we suddenly came across a beautiful handmade rock creation. I have to say, I was thrilled to have brought my camera!

In case you don't know, rock balancing is the practice of balancing rocks on top of one another in various configurations which appear to be physically impossible. Very cool!

We've had the privilege of seeing these rock balancing creations periodically at Gooseberry Island. Most of the time we usually encounter them after they have been left for a while and the waves and wind have had their way with them.

This particular day Gracie and I were fortunate enough to see one that was untouched. Gracie was finally able to take a photo with one of the rock balancing creations we found at Gooseberry Island. 

There was an article with photos in the SouthCoast Today last year about Peter Wirzburger's rock creations and it is always such a pleasure for us to come across one or two on our daily walks with Gracie.

Most of you know how much Gracie and I love Gooseberry Island because we do blog about it a lot. We just can't emphasize enough what a pet friendly hidden gem this beach really is. You never know what you may find while enjoying a leisurely walk around this gorgeous island, including a beautiful rock creation. Below is a great video of Peter Wirzburger's rock creations around the SouthCoast. 

 

 

 

A Cold Winter's Day at the Beach

Gracie had a fabulous time today at Gooseberry Island in Westport, MA. She met some new friends and had a blast playing with them all around the island.

It was a pleasure meeting the two beautiful Golden Retrievers named Casey & Molly and the very handsome Labradoodle named Jackson! Gracie had so much fun with all of you and hopes we can meet again for another fun beach walk over at Gooseberry Island soon!

  

 

 

Gracie's Local Weekend Adventure at Gooseberry Island in Westport, MA

This past weekend we were quite busy but we still wanted to make sure Gracie got her much needed exercise and outdoor fun! We walk at Gooseberry Island quite frequently and we do talk about it a lot on our bark blog. We just can't say enough about it. We love going there and Gracie loves it too. It is one of our favorite places to walk and we are fortunate to have such a wonderful place so close to our home.

We wanted to share our pictures this past weekend of Gracie enjoying our favorite Island in Westport, MA.

On the way home, Grace could not keep her eyes open. She was exhausted! 

If you are interested in posting a dog friendly event, please email Gracie at [email protected] with complete details of the event(s). Pictures and videos are welcome, space permitting. 

Don’t forget to share your experiences with Gracie’s Bark! We would love to hear a “bark” back from all our friends in Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond! Email us anytime at [email protected].  

A Dog's Letter: Dear Gracie, Love Ceilidh

Bark Gracie, 

Wow it's been too long since we traded woofs at Many Paws Pet Villa's basic training.  I hope you've got Tammi and Rob well in hand.  It's been a constant effort, but I think I've worked wonders with Mary.  

I really miss cavorting and running flat out at Horseneck Beach, but during the off-season (why do they call it that when there are so many birds to chase?) I also enjoy Gooseberry Island. 

  

I had my first swim ever (no paws touching) this summer because Mary was doing something very strange - she was lying horizontally in the water and I just had to check it out.  She says I whimpered the entire time I was swimming, but that's not my recollection.  I just wanted to be sure she was okay!  

I completely agree with you about DNRT's properties (www.dnrt.org).  Slocum's River Reserve is my favorite - when the woods are buggy there are always the meadows with a breeze off the river.

Lots of dog friends and things to sniff and rabbits! I could catch one if I wanted but it is more fun to scare them away. When I'm feeling brave, I bark at the cows too.

 

I also run on my person-uncle's farm.  I do not know why he objects to me lying in the cool dirt or chasing rabbits through the vegetation, but it is still a favorite place and I get lots of treats just for lying in the grass in the shade instead helping them turn the dirt.

Glad to see you are having fun this summer.  Mary says I look forward to more runs with you at Horseneck in the Fall (but I don't know what look forward means, so it must have something to do with her)  

In the meantime hope you caught the latest news on Dartmouth's Dog Park. I know Mary could use some help.  

Woof (and rabbits!) ~ Love Ceilidh

Dear Ceilidh: Thank you so much for writing me a "bark" letter about your summer adventures. We will definitely post the latest news on the Dartmouth Dog Park soon. I am super excited about this! Hope to see you in the near future at Gooseberry Island or Slocum's River Reserve. ~ Love Gracie