Dogs of Avalonia

Dogs of Avalonia

Calling all humans who enjoy Avalonia trails with their canine companions!

Share your Avalonia-loving canine hiker(s) with us!

This new page will introduce the canines (and their human companions) who hike the trails while serving as models of compliance with Avalonia’s dog policy. 

Although a small number of preserves do not allow dogs, most welcome our leashed canine friends, whose appreciation for the outdoors enhances our own. Many of us consider a walk in the woods alongside our dogs an essential ritual in mutual enjoyment that allows members of two different species to enter into one another’s experience even as we inhabit different worlds. 

Want to celebrate your relationship with your dog on this new page? Want your dog to assume the brand new status of an Avalonia canine ambassador? 

Share your Dog

Using the form below, please send a photograph of you and your dog(s) taken on an Avalonia property, identifying the preserve and including a brief statement about your dog.

Submit Your Dog

The ticks are back!

They’re tiny and hungry! And they tend to congregate in large groups on a dog’s body, often eluding detection! Keep in mind that, even if you take protective measures for yourself and use a veterinary method of protection for your dog, the ticks may still end up roaming your car and living environment. In other words, one shake of your dog, and an infestation may begin. That said, consider keeping your dog off the trails until a hard frost settles in. For everything you would ever want to know about ticks (and possibly things you would rather not know!), learn more here.

Dog Policy

View our Avalonia’s dog policy, which includes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, exceptions, and considerations.

View Policy

Submit Your Dog!

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Sally, German Shepherd born in January 2025, loves our daily walks in the Hunter Brook Preserve that abuts our woods on Hunters Road in Norwich. We enter the back way, enjoying the steep hill to the base of the cliff. Trails are on the plateau above. ~Claire Bessette

Introducing my two venerable canines: Ollie, Australian shepherd mix, 12 years old (top) and CoraBelle, hound mix, about 15 years old (bottom).

Both were adopted as adults and both arrived with numerous, highly individuated peccadilloes and eccentricities.

These photographs, taken at Pine Swamp Wildlife Corridor in Ledyard, illustrate one difference between them. Ollie enjoys the water like he’s a stereotypical retiree in Miami Beach “just getting his feet wet.” (Well, to be accurate, the water goes up to his knees.) CoraBelle, on the other hand, does her imitation of an alligator, stretched out and submerged, often ducking her head completely under the surface. He appraises; she luxuriates.

Here’s one thing they have in common, though: a love of Avalonia preserves. They especially appreciate the multitude of smells, taking their time on walks as they explore the surroundings with their gifted nostrils. Oh, to be a dog, taking in the world with such magnificent specificity! ~Elanah Sherman

Do I dash under the table with gel pens, snatch dollar bills and pile slippers in my bed? Yes, but I am the Bandit! I’m a vivacious playful Pom. I’m precious, and my Mom does not Toy with my safety. 

I am always on a leash. I know what you think, well, aren’t we little guys always on a leash? Hawk prey? Hey, my ancestors were the toughest sled dogs hailing from the Arctic, and just like the big guys, I have every urge to trek and explore. Darting under the table and making my mom circle around it is fun, I can’t lie. But feeling the wind rip through my plush fur while I trot through the leaves is my Nirvana. 

When I’m out on a trail I will cordially greet any bigger dog but will politely prance away because I have places to go. So, stay on your leash, and when we meet, things will be much safer for us all.  I’m not Toying around!  ~Sharma Piersall

There is nothing Thunder loves more than exploring an Avalonia trail. He pulls me up a hill, and waits patiently for me as I make my way down. He loves meeting other dogs, as long as they are on a leash too! ~ Julie at Paffard Woods

Say Hello to Daisy! Daisy is a two and half year old German Shepard/Lab mix who found her way into our hearts and into our home. We adopted Daisy in February 2024 from Our Companions Animal Sanctuary (https://www.ourcompanions.org/) in Ashford, CT, a truly amazing organization where I volunteer in their canine program. Upon meeting, it was love at first sight. A very smart, very loving, and very energetic girl, she just needed the time, training, and a place to grow and thrive.

As one of my charges at the sanctuary, Daisy would accompany me on field trips: walks in the State Parks and local land preserves in the area. I knew immediately we were going to be a team. In 2023, we had lost our Black Lab rescue Mika, a dog who loved to hike Avalonia sites. Adopting Daisy restored my sense of purpose: to work with her so she could live her best life, while exploring the natural beauty this area has to offer. Daisy loves people, and through the kindness and patience of friends, she is working on making dog friends. With her love for anything outdoors and her desire to learn, she is proud to be an Avalonia canine ambassador.

Libby loves Avalonia preserves. I started walking her at Pafford before I had a knee replacement surgery, and she learned to let me lean on her shoulders when going down hill. She weighs 80 pounds, so can provide some balance and support. Now, I am repaired, but she still responds to “slowwwwww” by providing a helpful shoulder, if needed. Libby was a rescue, part Great Pyrenees and part Anatolian shepherd, a mountain dog. Although there are no mountains in Stonington, Pafford Woods provides her with some little hills, fine drinks of running water, and terrific smells.

Stella’s favorite thing in life is a walk, especially on a trail in the woods.