The ’09 boating season may be off to a slow start but sailors and power boaters hungering to get back on the water will find kindred spirits and perhaps their next vessel at the 7th Annual Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, August 7-9, in Rockland, Maine. The state’s only in-water boat and home show will feature more than 70 boats afloat and 150 exhibitors on shore. Participating will be many of Maine’s finest artists, architects, boat builders, craftsmen, designers, furniture makers, marine gear vendors, and musicians. This year a new area is planned exploring alternative energy sources and building practices, energy audits, and sustainability. Returning faves include a model yacht pond, live music, a marine activities area for kids. Naturally there will be plenty of tasty Maine food.

The 7th Annual World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials on Sunday Aug. 9 at 10:30 a.m. gives contestants and their people a chance to show off skills to the amusement of one and all. The 2008 World Champ, a bloodhound named Truman, aka Special Agent K-9 entered by the Humane Society of Knox Count, was trained by local teens. Truman performed nearly the equal of 007 as he leaped from a tippy dinghy, kissed a femme fatale, disarmed special agents, responded to commands in multiple languages, knocked a villain off the dock and then slipped back under cover as a family dog. Soon after last year’s show, he adopted into a loving home. Registration is now closed but still this is a great event for families and dog lovers (and likers).
You’ll also want to catch the Great Pen Bay Zucchini Boat Regatta on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tradition Shapes Innovation, the show’s theme, captures the true spirit of today’s Maine. Admission: $10 adults, under 12 free. Gates open at 10 a.m. daily. Harbor and Buoy parks, Rockland, Maine, on Penobscot Bay. No pets allowed. Info and directions: 800-565-4951 or www.maineboats.com.

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe Correspondent

We got our first family dog ever in September. Not long after, I became a dog freak. At least an Eva Freak [our dog's name]. Now I pay particular attention to anything dog. This Saturday's event in Provincetown has caught my eye, and seems like a terrific event for any expert or novice runner, that happens to stay active with their own Evas. Dog Run Dog is in its 4th year, and provides a 5K or 10K race circuit for dogs and their people. Dog Running, the generic term for Canicross, is quickly becoming both a popular recreational and competitive sport. Requiring very little training, Canicross is easy for anyone to start.

Dog Run Dog is Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. In its 4th year, the race is held in conjuntion with the Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter and Pilgrim Bark Park. This event is professionally timed and the top three teams are awarded the coveted Dog Bowl. Call 1-802-356-4444 for info or check online.

Photo courtesy Dog Run Dog

At a time when the Commonwealth is planning to close several state parks and swimming areas and raise parking fees at beaches and other recreational sites, Uncle Sam, who is getting quite a bit a practice at this bailout stuff, is reaching out to you.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced that the feds will waive entrance fees at
147 national parks and monuments for three summer weekends: June
20-21 (Think cheap Dad's Day outing), July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16.

According to the Associated Press, 147 US parks and monuments charge fees of $3-$25 and nation's 244 other parks already are free. There about about 20 parks and sites in Massachusetts; of that number the ones that normally charge include: Adams National Historical Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, and Longfellow National Historic Site. Here's a link to a national map and list.

Feeling guilty about leaving your dog alone when you go on vacation? Make it up to him by taking him out to dinner. Every Tuesday night from 5:30 to
9 p.m. the Wildcat Tavern in Jackson, N.H., hosts Dinner With Your Dog Night. They'll seat you and your leashed best friend in the tavern area (sorry, the dining room is for humans only). In warmer months you'll sit out back in the Wildcat's comfortable garden. Order what you like from the menu, and the good-natured staff will make a general fuss over you and your dog, treating him with water, dog snacks, and a souvenir bandana to take home. Need a place to stay? The Village House just down the road in Jackson is a pet-friendly place to bunk down for the night.

Dog lovers will go to great lengths to accommodate their pets on vacation. The Paw House Inn in West Rutland, Vt., knows this and has a formula down pat: pamper the pets and their owners will come.

The inn has been so successful that it is expanding: the Paw House Inn and Resort at Mount Snow in West Dover, Vt., opens Labor Day weekend. Everything about the Paw House is dog-centric: "tail-proofed" rooms, a fenced dog park, an agility course, a doggie daycare facility, an indoor playground for colder months, trainers, groomers, dog massage therapists, and a custom-built dog bed in every room. There's even a restaurant (for humans) called Fetch.

Nightly rates for two dogs and two humans are $185-$295, including breakfast. Due to the inn's insurance restrictions, children under 10 are generally not allowed, and dogs must be current on vaccinations.

I have a friend who gives her dog medication because he gets nervous and anxious when left alone for several hours. Doggie downers?! I had to roll my eyes at this, but apparently there’s a market out there for freaked-out pets. Take the Chatterbowl. Record a message of up to 10 seconds into a battery-powered device, which fits under the bowl. When your pet comes to eat or drink, your soothing message will play, thereby warming the cockles of your lonely pet’s heart. Personally this would piss me off if I were a dog, but then again, maybe that’s why I’m a cat person.
Speaking of cats, there’s a way to drive them crazy too — in a good way. Fling-ama-String, which hangs over a doorknob, is a battery-operated device that, well, flings a string around. Watch the video and go here to find more ways to spoil your pet whether you leave home or not.