Blessing of the Pets

This weekend, Aleks and I brought Lola to a blessing of the pets ceremony, conducted at a nearby Catholic parish. She was very excited, you could tell. Not, I don’t suspect, because her little doggie sins were about to be washed away (though, how adorable is that?), but because of how many different creatures there were. Among the array of pets, we encountered a golden retriever, a soft coated wheaten terrier, and a bunny named Rex.

It was a tremendous ceremony, and the priest, who was a friendly young person from Latin America, was very St. Francis like. He brought each of the pets up and hugged them and prayed over them and then offered them a treat — biscuits for the dog, and apple slices for Mr. Rex. There was one dog, however, who appeared to be, like, the literal embodiment of evil (pics below): sharp snout, pitch black fur, and piercing eyes — the sort of creature that finds a dark corner to sit in, just because. But he actually turned out to be extremely affable. Everybody got along just fine.

Unfortunately, the two woolly bear caterpillars that have been hanging out in front of our house — Chesterton, and Discount Furniture Warehouse — were nowhere to be found. The plan was for Aleks to box them up for the blessing and then return them to their respective habitats, but, like so many obstinate young ones these days, they suddenly seemed to disappear when it was time for Church. Isn’t that interesting?

Before the blessing, the priest said tradition holds a story about St. Francis, that when nobody came to hear him speak, he would preach to the animals. I find that to be very lovely, and see that St. Francis must have been someone who continually made the most of every situation, however crappy. That said, I would like to ask him about what techniques he used for getting the animals to absorb the lesson, since I’ve attempted to lecture Lola on the moral life almost daily, and she has great difficulty retaining the essential kernel of whatever is being taught. Not long ago, she dispatched my wife’s entire breakfast the moment her attention was diverted.

There are many things that owning a St. Bernard will teach you, whether you asked for them or not. Patience, is certainly one of them. And so is understanding and forgiveness. My Lola is a very badly behaved dog, and I love that. She is slobbery and aggressive with snuggling. She wants to be this-close to everybody, which can be uncomfortable for some people, since, even at 120lbs, she still considers herself something of a lap poodle. She eats out of the garbage, and drinks from the toilet. She leaves fur on absolutely everything. Her evacuations are enormous.

Still, animals are a blessing.

– Pat