# Ever done a blessing-of-the animals service?



## Nuliajuk (Oct 25, 2014)

My husband's church (Anglican) does a blessing of the animals service every year at this time. This year he wanted to take part with our two. So, on with harnesses, into the carriers (without the leashes attached) and off to the service we went. When we arrived we left the carriers in a corner, attached the leashes, and found a place to sit.

Sandy spent most of the service climbing up on the back of the pew and walking along the top. She got a bit miffed at not being allowed to jump to the next row, but was mainly pretty laid back. Everyone made a fuss of her.

Saxon touched noses with a couple of dogs, stretched out and rolled over on his back on the carpet in the aisle, and kept attempting to explore. So, I took him outside for a lap around the building to keep him occupied until the actual blessing part started. Then I got him back inside just in time, and picked him up to carry him down the aisle. He squirmed, pushed against my face with all four paws, wriggled constantly, and it was generally like carrying a large furry octopus. A very heavy furry octopus.

I put him back down on the floor for the actual blessing part, and once the minister was finished, he was finally able to turn around and go barreling back down the aisle for the open doors at the other end of the church, dragging me behind him. An attempt to touch noses with the only other cat in the place didn't go well - he got hissed at - so I took him back outside for another lap around the building. After staring down some pigeons, rolling on the asphalt, spray marking one of the shrubs, and dragging me over to a cedar tree full of twittery little birds of some kind, he was finally read to go back in.

If we ever do this again, I think I'll suggest that we go very early so that they can get the exploration out of their systems before the actual service starts. Not that that will likely slow Saxon down. He's a handful, but he's my handful and I wouldn't change a thing about him. :grin2:


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

Yes, I have, but I missed ours yesterday as my son came by and I was busy with him on a project. 

The one I went to, I brought a pet snake. Apparently one lady there with her dog was terrified of snakes and ran away.  That was not my intention at all, and if I were to go again with a snake I'd have him in a snake bag so he'd not be visible. 

I could nver bring my cat, he is semi-feral and would poop all over the place in fear. Not good.


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## Nuliajuk (Oct 25, 2014)

Yes, we definitely couldn't have done this with any of our previous pairs of cats, which were of the "timid but gentle" type. Maybe when we had Taffy it may have worked. The two we have now are kind of unusual in their sheer fearlessness.
I'm just happy Saxon waited until he got outside to mark territory. That was my biggest fear. As it turned out, only one critter had an accident, an elderly pug that wee'd on the carpet.


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

I friend of mine, wife of a now retired priest, told me of a goat that was being blessed... while it nibbled on the straw pocket book of the next person in line! That made me feel a bit better about the lady who ran away. At least my poor snake hadn't actually *done* anything bad or destructive!


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

I took Robin to one. It was the spring of 2016. Robin was a little nervous with all the dogs around, including 2 that had a fascination with cats! Then-pastor Jerry Krueger did the blessing.

Are animal blessings traditionally done in the fall?

lol! My buddy Bob seriously contemplated taking his anaconda , Ana to the blessing, Eldercat! Was she well behaved?


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## Nuliajuk (Oct 25, 2014)

This was for the feast of St. Francis of Assissi, which is October 4, apparently.
I'm not actually sure why the Anglican church still pays attention to saints. I suppose when Henry VIII founded it, he only wanted to lose touch with the part of the Catholic church that didn't allow him to divorce his first wife, but not lose the feast days and other traditions.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

i've done one but the women running it recommended i leave my skittish kitty at home as they could do it without her actually being present.


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

Yes, it's the Feast of St. Francis, the animal lover.  Far as I can tell, the Anglican/Episcopal church only did away with the pope and priest celibacy. They still have (? now?) monastaries, saints, confession, incense, chanting, all those delightful trappings that make church into a real pageant. I found that little children enjoyed such services more than the preaching ones (and so did I).

The python I took (years ago) was not a *big* snake, he was only about 5 pounds, but non-snake lovers consider that huge. Ball pythons are timid, they curl into a ball and stay that way in stressful times. Don't know what people would think of a full grown anaconda that often requires two or three people to carry!  That could be like taking a leopard to Blessing!


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