🐾 Paws, Prayers Parade Ribbons at Maple Gap’s Fall Festival Pet Parade
“By The Maple Gap Gazette Staff
(Reporting from Main Street — where the fur flew, but everyone stayed blessed.)
MAPLE GAP — The annual Fall Festival Pet Parade trotted through downtown Saturday morning, proving once again that in Maple Gap, pets are not only family but also fierce competitors when trophies are involved.
The event, sponsored by Petal & Vine and Maple Gap Farm & Feed, featured more than two dozen furry, feathered, and slightly confused participants. Crowds gathered early along Main Street, coffee in hand, to cheer as everything from dachshunds to donkeys strutted their stuff.
Shannon Ingles, who co-hosted the event with Doug Whitmarsh, said this year’s theme — “Paws & Pumpkins” — inspired participants to “think festive, not feral.”
Taking home Best in Show was Gemma, Shannon’s long-haired dachshund, dressed as a sunflower complete with crocheted petals handmade by Shannon herself. “She didn’t bark once,” Shannon said proudly. “But she did steal someone’s corn muffin.”
Madi, Deborah Livingston’s short-haired dachshund, earned Most Spirited for enthusiastically chasing the parade marshal’s baton — twice. “She thought it was a chew toy sent from heaven,” Deborah admitted.
The Best Costume category sparked heated (and hilarious) competition. Pastor Samuel Miller’s golden retriever, Blessing, walked away with the win dressed as a tiny angel, wings and all. When asked about the inspiration, Pastor Miller laughed. “She’s not perfect,” he said, “but she’s grace in motion — and she doesn’t talk back.”
Meanwhile, Henry Baker’s goat, Daisy, made her third annual appearance — this time in a tutu and glittery collar. “She refuses to stay home,” Henry explained. “And frankly, she walks better on a leash than some folks I know.”
By the parade’s end, laughter filled Main Street as children collected candy, dogs sniffed out dropped popcorn, and the Maple Gap Fire Department hosed down the sidewalk- “just in case.”
When asked about next year’s theme, Shannon smiled. “We’re already brainstorming,” she said. “All I’ll say is… you might want to start crocheting tiny pilgrim hats.”
The Maple Gap Gazette can confirm that every tail wagged, no paws were left behind, and the only controversy was deciding whether goats should really be allowed to enter the “pet” category at all.