Thanks to everyone who submitted pumpkins. Now it’s time for you, dear readers, to cast your vote for your favorite pumpkin in the 2011 West Philly Local Pumpkin Carving Contest. The “Readers’ Choice” winner will win two prizes from our sponsors: Aksum, Dock Street Brewery, Mariposa Food Co-op, Milk & Honey, VIX Emporium and Wake Up Yoga).

On Monday we’ll announce winners in the Scariest, Funniest, Philly-themed, and Kids categories, which will be decided by a crack panel of judges.

Check out the slideshow below or go to the Flickr gallery and jot down the number of the pumpkin you like best. Click on your choice to register your vote. The voting is open until 6 p.m. Monday. One vote per person.

Voting has ended.

Henry, a big grey tabby mix cat (grey with darker grey stripes) has escaped from his home at 5012 Kingsessing Ave.

Henry has a white belly and chest. He is fairly social and usually comes when called by name.

Please contact Christina at 215-514-6630 or Brendan at 267-597-9679 if you see him wandering around the neighborhood.

The Clark Park Farmers’ Market (43rd & Baltimore) has a nice selection of pumpkins today if anyone still needs one. But hurry up, it closes at 2 p.m.

Here’s a great chance to get your dog or cat vaccinated and examined. A low-cost vaccine clinic will be open this Sunday, Oct. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Penn’s Alpha Psi Veterinary Fraternity (4002 Pine St.).

Members of the community are invited to bring their cats and dogs for physical exams, rabies and distemper vaccines ($10) and microchipping ($20). Flea and tick prevention products ($10), as well as additional vaccines that will be available.

The event marks World Rabies Day. All proceeds will go to benefit the PSPCA and help the homeless and abused animals in Philadelphia.

If you have some prescription medication that you are not planning to use, here’s an opportunity to get rid of it in a much safer way rather than letting it sit in your house or dumping it in the trash.

Tomorrow, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., bring it to Health Center 3 at 555 S. 43rd St. during the 3rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The event is organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies and is being held at numerous sites throughout the nation. Nearly 4,000 state and local agencies participated in the previous two events like this one (last spring and in 2010), and collected more than 309 tons of pills.

Folks in Powelton and Mantua can drop their stuff off at the Drexel Recreation Center’s Main Lobby, 3301 Market St. For other locations please go to this page and enter your zip code.

This week’s featured dog is Violet, a 6-12-month old female American Pit Bull terrier mix with a gorgeous black coat.

Violet ended up at the shelter after wandering the streets of Philadelphia for a while. She was picked up by a nice police officer who was hoping she’d find her family again. No such luck! But surely there is someone out there who would love to bring her home with them.

Violet loves the staff and volunteers at the shelter because they give her attention and treats! She’s relatively easy to walk on the leash and quickly learning new tricks. She did well in her behavior evaluation, but didn’t show much interest in toys or food, she just wanted to explore and get head scratches. She showed a little too much interest in cats so she probably shouldn’t live with them in her new foster or forever home. She did well in her dog meets, they said ‘hi’ and sniffed appropriately. If you have any dogs at home, please bring them in to meet Violet to make sure it’s a good match.

Unfortunately, Violet is currently on treatment for ringworm. Ringworm is a contagious fungal condition that is easily treatable with topical medication, but it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months for a dog with ringworm to fully recover. Ringworm thrives on animals with suppressed immune systems (which can be caused by stress from being in the shelter), and heals more quickly on healthy, non-stressed dogs in home environments.

Violet is currently located at the ACCT shelter at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia. Adoption hours are 1 – 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekends. If you are interested in fostering, please contact nsmith[at]pspca.org or jsweeney[at]pspca.org.