by Peggy Zortman

Chase here, Former Shelter Dog reporting. . . .

I love the fall season. The weather gets cooler, the air is clear and the aromas (that means smells) of autumn (another human word for Fall) are wonderful, and the adventures keep getting better.

That morning Mister and Missus called me to the Chick Magnet (our pickup truck). We are going to a Pumpkin Fest, they said. I don’t understand Pumpkin Fest but I saw they had loaded the cooler so that meant a road trip. I love rides; but road trips are longer, better and usually include a stop for ice cream.

I curled up on my special back seat pillow and after making sure all was well, I closed my eyes for a nap. When I opened them we had stopped. I could see lots of people walking around but couldn’t see what they were so excited about.

Mister got my leash and I quickly jumped to the ground. With Missus close behind we walked a short distance to find a place in the front row.

Pumpkins? We were looking at pumpkins. They were everywhere. Little ones, medium size ones and big ones. Children (human pups) were everywhere. Most parents were pulling little wagons and the pups were excitedly chattering and pointing and finally finding their own special pumpkin. If the pumpkin was small the pup loaded it in the wagon or if it was too big the parent loaded it.

But what were we doing here? The only way I like pumpkin is in pie with lots and lots of whipped cream. Mister and Missus are no longer pups so why are we here?

Mister and I had been standing to the side just watching when one of the kids (another human word for pup) came over and asked to pet me. With Mister’s permission she sat on the ground beside me scratching my ears. I kissed her nose —she giggled, then gave me a hug and walked away with her mother. Maybe this day wouldn’t be a total loss after all.

About then Missus came back pulling a wagon with pumpkins. . . a large, a medium and a small. These will make nice jack-o-lanterns she said. Jack-O-Lantern? I’m not sure what that is but if it tastes like pie I’m all for it.

The Jack-O-Lanterns-to-be were loaded in the backseat with the cooler and me. It was getting a little crowded back there but there was room to curl into a comfortable ball and take another nap.

My nose woke me. I could smell good stuff. I sat up and sure enough we had parked at a huge store where lots of people were hustling (that means hurrying) here and there with boxes of groceries. I could smell meat and cookies, and much more. My mouth watered. Were we going to eat?

Mister attached my leash again and we made our way to a bunch (that means a lot) of people standing around a roped area. I squeezed to the front to find. . . more pumpkins?

These were different…they were all enormous (that means giant size). Mister explained we were watching the fall weigh-off for the PGPGA. That translates to Pennsylvania Giant Pumpkin Growers Association.

It seems humans have contests (like races). Each person tries to grow the biggest pumpkin; then they all get together, weigh them and give out prizes for the heaviest. 

These were so heavy they had to wrap a strap around them and carry them with a tow-motor (a powerful machine) to get them to the scale (a flat plate that tells you how much pumpkin is inside each one). The biggest we saw that day weighed 1,780.5 pounds. That’s a lot of pumpkin! I wondered how many pies it would make? I also hoped Missus didn’t want to bring one home. There was no more room in the backseat.

We watched for a while, I found some humans to scratch my ears and a pup to hug me. Later while me and Mister went for a walk, Missus went shopping. She loaded a lot of good smelling stuff in the back of the Chick Magnet.

We didn’t go far till Mister stopped at a fast-food restaurant (I could smell burgers) where we got sandwiches and French fries. I didn’t get my own meal but I got a bite of everything.

“Time to go home, Chase,” said Missus when she caught me yawning. But we made one more stop…for ice cream.

It was a wonderful day. The next day Missus painted faces on her pumpkins and sat them on the picnic table – our Jack-O-Lanterns. Later on she made pie with lots of whipped cream. I noticed she used pumpkin from a can.

That’s my report for now. I have to go clean up some leftover pie and whipped cream that just dropped into my dish.

This is Chase signing out.