The Blessing of Animals

I tried to talk Dave out of it. I tried to talk the kids out of it. I thought he was crazy. I knew I'd never do anything so insane (mostly). At church for the Feast of St. Francis, they had the Blessing of Animals. It sounds sweet doesn't it? Kids bringing their puppies to get a blessing.

Unless you have multiple children (which he does) and are planning on taking a dog that's afraid (therefore freaks out) with other animals - especially dogs. This is not some tiny lap dog. Maggie growls & goes crazy at the sight of other dogs 30 feet away through a pane of glass (which she broke last year trying to go through the window to get to the dog 30 feet away). This is a full-grown black lab who is incredibly strong and can take any of the kids and I on a ride if she decides to run and we hold onto her leash. This dog can't be walked because she won't mind (she doesn't heel, or stay...) She's super sweet in the house and adores all humans -- just not other dogs.

So, he took all 4 kids. A dog who will be 2 feet from other dogs. And a blind hamster to get blessed. I'm totally thinking it isn't worth it and stayed home in my recliner and sent Dd#2 with the digital camera. This is a picture of DS#3 with the blind hamster, Eaty, in a rubbermaid container after it's been sprinkled with holy water. Dave said he had a hard time keeping DS#3 from jumping off the half wall while he held the hamster container -- he knew that our son would hit the ground with the poor hamster still in mid-air in it's container. Eaty appears to have survived the ordeal.

I guess Dave had a hard time restraining Maggie and said it's nothing I should try. The kids told me that everytime a dog barked or howled, Maggie joined in. It was incredibly sweet of him to try. He said Ds#3 appreciated it the most, since Eaty is his miracle pet.