INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Dozens of dogs and their families took part in Halloween fun at the Humane Society Saturday, competing in costume contests, rooting for bones in the graveyard and braving the frights of the Haunted Barn.
Waiting for their turn to go before the judges were 16-month-old Lorelai, a Weimaraner-mix, and her human, Jessica Moon. Both were dressed as witches in classic black and purple.
“Oh, she doesn’t mind it at all,” Moon said of Lorelai and her costume, though the skirt caused Lorelai concerns at the beginning.
Moon said the other dogs at the Humane Society’s Howl-O-Ween event distracted Lorelai to the point she forgot about the skirt.
Fellow competitor in the costume contest was Maddie, and 18-month-old Golden Retriever, dressed as a fearsome pirate. So she wouldn’t feel out of place, Maddie’s human, Summer Smiciklas, 8, also dressed as a pirate.
Summer said she thought if she dressed like Maddie, it would help Maddie’s chances of winning the contest.
Last year, Maddie was a vampire and placed third or fourth, Summer’s mom, Leslie Smiciklas said.
The witch and pirate competed alongside pumpkins, pigs, bumble bees, princesses and fairies, firefighters and security guards, and even the Headless Horseman’s steed.
Along with the costume contest, dogs competed for title of being the tallest, the smallest, the best tail-wagger, and the most talented.
For the humans, there was the Haunted Barn filled with creepy characters waiting to spook the unsuspecting and a pumpkin carving contest.
In keeping with the animal-friendly venue, several pumpkins depicted animals – including the extinct.
One was an intricately carved cat sitting on a tree branch, another was the head of a cow. One other was a velociraptor.
“I think it’s great for the community,” Leslie Smiciklas said of the Howl-O-Ween event.
