It's the Great Pumpkin, William Van Winkle!

Today we took William to a nearby park, which features an annual pumpkin patch and hayrides during the month of October. The park is situated on a working orange grove and there is also a restored Victorian house on the grounds. William was very excited to see all of the pumpkins and a little tired/thirsty. It was about 90 degrees here today, so he was panting all over the place!

While at the park, a couple of people who stopped to pet William told us that they used to have English Springer Spaniels too. As one man (a previous Springer owner)  said of William who was at the time jumping all around and getting twisted in his leash, "He's a typical Springer!" I have noticed that people who have owned this breed before can bond over stories of the breed's "craziness" and "Velcro" tendencies.

One of my favorite features of the pumpkin patch at our local park is the animals that they bring in. This year they had a pen with a few sheep, goats, and two pigs. The animals were all really interested in William and followed him around, watching his every move. William's puppy socialization checklist includes meeting goats/sheep and farm animals, so now I can check that off. Thank goodness! Here is William making friends with a sheep.

This is the restored Victorian house I mentioned early. As you can see it is quite small and modest. I would love to have a tour of the inside of it sometime. I don't think William would be allowed in!