Sit! Heel! Be blessed!

“Sit! I said sit!” the dog owner pleaded, tightening the leash on a highly energetic mutt.

Obedience classes in order? Hardly.

The naughty dog was in need of a blessing.

On Saturday morning, strangers gathered together for the love of dogs — and one turtle — to receive a blessing of their animals from the Rev. Ken Schmit, pastor at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Laguna Beach.

It is customary for Catholic and Anglican churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi’s love of all creatures.

Francis, who lived from 1182 to 1226, is celebrated on his feast day, Oct. 4. The Catholic Church tells a story recorded by Thomas of Celano during the 13th century about Francis taming a dangerous wolf who was terrorizing village people.

The wolf was so ravenous that it was not only killing and eating animals, but people too. Francis decided to meet the wolf. People warned him not to have an encounter, but Francis insisted God would take care of him. A friar and peasants followed Francis, but soon the peasants gave up and said they would walk no further.

Francis and the friar walked on. The wolf charged out of the woods. Francis made the sign of the cross toward it. The wolf slowed down and closed its mouth. Francis commanded the wolf to follow him into town and make a peace pact with the villagers.

With the wolf at his side, Francis gave the town a sermon on the wondrous and fearful love of God, calling them to repent all their sins. The townspeople promised to feed the wolf. The wolf lived for two years, going door to door for food and hurting no one.

Upon his election as pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina chose Francis as his papal name in honor of the saint, because he was concerned for the well-being of the poor.

Today, Francis is recognized as the patron saint of animals and the environment and is considered one of the most venerated religious figures in history.

Saturday morning at 10 a.m., on a grassy bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, pet owners walked a variety of domestic dogs to the school’s field. An owner carried a cardboard box lid with a turtle stretching out its neck.

The group of adults and children formed a circle, waiting for Schmit to read prayers and sprinkle holy water on their pets.

“This is the closest thing a dog can get to being baptized,” said Cate Phelan, a sixth-grade student at St. Catherine’s school. The proud owner, who was with her younger sister Sami, petted their Weimaraner, Scarlet.

“She’s my baby,” Cate said.

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‘No barking in church’

Schmit stood in front of the crowd and looked at the pets before him.

“First rule,” the pastor said as he glanced at a yellow Labrador with perked ears. “No barking in church.”

The dog lowered his head.

Schmit raised his hand to his forehead and made the sign of the cross. He preceded the blessing by asking the crowd to listen to the words of the Book of Genesis:

In the beginning, God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”

A boxer lifted his hind leg and scratched his head.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of all kinds.”

A German shepherd licked its owner’s face.

And so it happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.

Schmit walked up to each dog and the turtle and read a special prayer while sprinkling holy water on their heads.

Within 20 minutes, the breeds were blessed.

“They’re better behaved than some of the kids,” Schmit said with a laugh.

Saffron, a deaf and blind toy poodle, has traveled to 11 countries, ridden in a hot air balloon and has spent 2 1/2 hours in St. Peter’s Basilica, within Vatican City.

“He’s had 18 years of a good life,” his owners said of the rescue dog.

Saffron has attended mass in Assisi, Notre Dame Cathedral and Lourdes, France. He has passport stamps that include Holland, Germany, Mexico, Spain, and Canada.

Also present was a family of Labrador retrievers. Moose, a chocolate Lab, and Sweetie, a yellow Lab, are parents to 5-year-old black Lab Koobie.

Kim Brooks, a hairdresser who volunteers at an animal shelter in Mission Viejo, brought her two Pomeranians: Simba, who is about 12, and Lindsey, who is about 10.

“They’ve never been blessed,” she said.

Brooks came to the feast day blessing once she learned of the ceremony from Ashley Gregg, a St. Catherine member who put together the service. Gregg said she encourages others to pray the rosary with their peaceful companions.

“It’s a super bond for people to feel good about animals,” a member of the crowd whispered during the prayer reading.

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Presidential pooches

According to the Humane Society, pet ownership in the U.S. has more than tripled from the 1970s, when about 67 million households had pets. In 2012, 62% of American households included at least one pet. The U.S. is home to an estimated 83.3 million pet dogs and 95.6 million cats. And turtles? Only 1,320 households.

Those numbers attest to the affection Americans have for furry, four-legged friends.

And nearly every U.S. president could agree about the companionship of a pet.

Abraham Lincoln’s dog, Fido, was said to accompany Lincoln when he went into town. Fido would wait outside the barbershop while Lincoln sat for a trim.

Franklin Roosevelt’s beloved Scottish terrier, Fala, performed tricks and followed Roosevelt everywhere, becoming part of his public image. A statue of Fala beside Roosevelt is featured in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., marking Fala as the only presidential pet so honored.

Checkers, Richard Nixon’s cocker spaniel, played a major role in his master’s electoral career. And yet Checkers is the best-known presidential dog to have never lived in the White House; he died in 1964.

Liberty, Gerald and Betty Ford’s golden retriever, is cast in a rumor. Stories indicate that if Ford wanted to end a conversation in the Oval Office, he would signal Liberty and she would go to the guest wagging her tail, causing a natural break.

At Saturday’s service, though, two dogs did not wish to bid farewell.

Scarlet, the Weimaraner who just turned 2, sat at the top of the field’s staircase, her eyes locked on a Pomeranian.

Simba, the Pomeranian, stood upright on the grass, centering his weight on all fours. He looked up.

Cue the sounds from Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy.”

Brooks touched her heart.

“That was so cute and precious,” she said.

And they called it puppy love.