All creatures great and small

Suzie Harrison

For this one day, cats, dogs, bunnies, a parrot and even a rat had

something in common -- they were all about to be blessed at the

Neighborhood Congregational Church.

The 10th annual Blessing of the Pets brought a good crowd of two-

and four-legged friends to visit pastor Teri Lennon and Kel

Henderson.

“Around 50 to 55 people came,” event coordinator Brett Jarvis

said. “We had bunnies, dogs, more cats than anything, and a rat and a

parrot.”

The day started with caroling, and then the pet owners shared

their stories. Some pets were suffering from emotional strife while

others had an ailment or injury that needed to be healed.

Jarvis said that they had a turnout of families with kids and

really tried to encourage the kids to tell the their stories of the

pets.

“A lot of older dogs were there,” Jarvis said. “A couple that had

been sick the previous year and now they were doing better.”

After being blessed, the pet and the pastor smiled for the camera

as snapshots were taken. The group Rescuing Unwanted Furry Friends

came to talk about programs they have at various shelters to help pay

medical expenses for injured pets.

“It was a nice partnership,” Jarvis said. “The kids really took to

it.”

Pet stockings were also available with each pet’s name on it, and

different loot depending on whether it was a cat or dog. However,

Jarvis said that there must have been a dog fan making the cat

stockings, because a lot of rawhide found its way into the cats’

bounty.

Jarvis and the pastors said were pleased and just enjoy doing it

for the community.

“There were no dog fights this year, which is always a good

thing,” Jarvis said.