“Excuse me, but is that pumpkin for me?”

There we were at Oktoberfest in the Germantown section of Nashville enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Of course fall is the perfect season for festivals…and pumpkins. And that pumpkin was particularly interesting.

JR arrived at the Crossroads Campus booth. He did look spectacular – shiny black fur, wagging tail, big puppy grin on his face.  He’d been walking the streets of Oktoberfest with his foster human, meeting folks, getting lots of pets, looking for that special human or humans to call his own.

JR stood quietly by the humans while they talked. He wagged his tail at the appropriate moments, smiled at strangers passing by, and then he saw it – the pumpkin. And what a splendid looking pumpkin it was. And like JR it was sitting all alone in need of a companion. JR was just sure he and the pumpkin could have fun together.

In typical puppy fashion JR thought about that pumpkin…and he thought….and he thought. While he was thinking the humans continued talking, oblivious to the thoughts running through JR’s puppy mind.

“DROP THAT PUMPKIN!”

“What? THIS pumpkin? This LONELY pumpkin? I was just keeping it company…” At least that’s what JR might have thought. Being a well-mannered pup and wanting ever so much to please the humans he dropped the pumpkin.

It’s no wonder JR took a liking to that lonely little pumpkin. JR, like all dogs, needs to live and do life with his pack or what humans call a family. Right now JR doesn’t have a family to call his own – he’s still a foster pup. He went to live with a family for awhile last summer, but it turned out they just didn’t have time in their busy lives for a dog so he came back to his foster home at Red Rover Pet Services where he is is waiting to bring joy and love into the lives of some lucky family.

Over the years I’ve had many foster dogs who took a liking to a special toy or bone or blanket. Maybe JR recognized a lonely pumpkin and thought that he and the pumpkin could find a family together. Or maybe JR just likes pumpkins. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what goes on inside the mind of a pup.

JR is available for adoption through Bonaparte’s Retreat

Delores Carter