GOD forgive me, but I just spent a week with 130 crazy people and 150 dogs at Camp Gone to the Dogs. In Vermont. And you thought the state was only famous for gay marriage and Ben & Jerry’s.

It's more fun to be away with their dog than without their dog," says Jeanne Richter, director of Camp Gone to the Dogs, which holds sessions in Stowe and Marlboro, Vt. "It's meant for you to have ...