For most of us, fall means raking leaves. For two yellow Labrador retrievers named Stella and Mabel, it means the very best day of the year.
Their owner, Jody Hartman, rakes the leaves in his yard in Freeport, Maine, into one big, inviting pile. Then he gives the girls the go-ahead, and they launch themselves in with pure, tail-wagging delight.
Stella and Mabel have been leaf jumping since 2015, and over the years their autumn antics have delighted tens of millions of people. CBS News’ Steve Hartman once featured them on his “On the Road” segment and declared that their leaf jumping is everything fall should be.
Now the moment their fans wait for every year has finally arrived. CBS Evening News shared footage of the dogs’ first big jump of 2026, and it was a good one.
Jody goes to great lengths to keep the fun going all season. He even uses a hair dryer on the leaves and covers the pile with a tent to protect that special rustle. Fans can look forward to dozens more jumps, plus games of hide in the pile, lie on the pile, and what Steve Hartman called “the periscope of hope.”
Jody says the joy goes both ways. “Dogs, you know, unfortunately, they don’t live anywhere near as long as we do. But they live in the moment. They don’t sit around worrying like we do,” he said. Here’s to Stella and Mabel, and to finding a little joy in every season.
Video credit: CBS Evening News on YouTube