I had the greatest time this morning at the annual Blessing Of The Animals at one of the oldest Episcopal churches in my area. The church was full with 400+ owners and their pets (living and deceased). Myself and a few friends of mine took ours and we got there early, thank God, because I did not expect so many people to be there! I took Precious in a beautiful white tote bag (his urn fit perfectly) and Patches in his cat tote. The ceremony was like a Catholic mass, very dignified and full of readings about animals, all taken from the Bible and James Herriot's books. It took over 20 minutes for my turn to go up the (very long) aisle and have both babies blessed; the church was very loud with mostly yappy dogs (I saw several Jack Russells that were almost in fighting mode!), not many cats. I saw everything from worms to a camel being blessed! The collections taken up during the hour and a half long service went to the local humane association, which was so nice! I've had a smile on my face all day that isn't going away soon.
This proves all creatures great and small have souls and yes they DO go to Heaven!
Lisa G.

How beautiful! Next year, I will certainly take Daisy's ashes to such a ceremony. I am sorry we misssed it this year.

Daisy's Mommy

We, too, went to a Blessing of the Animals, and while it was quite a bit smaller than a group of 400, it was still quite nice. I happened to meet the President of the local pet loss group there, who happened to also be the first volunteer I'd spoken to way back when we first lost Sabin, and who worked with me 5 years later to rectify a mistake ( a moral one, from my perspective ) that had been made in their newsletter regarding the tribute they published in his honour. It pleased me no end that she actually not only recognized the picture I'd brought of him, but that she even remembered his NAME! So she also got to 'meet' his sister, Nissa, and for me, I got hugs and support. Strangely, I also saw ( and talked briefly to ) one of the vet techs who'd worked in one of our first vet's clinic, and who we'd ALSO just seen last year when we'd had to take Nissa to a certain Emerg. clinic on the wknd. when her one eye got severe glaucoma and damage from high blood pressure that wasn't caught in time. Perhaps that was her sign for me, as I'd asked her to please be with me during the Blessing.

I WAS disappointed that there weren't any readings more specific to animals, though. As always, they brought in a token horse from the RCMP detachment ( tho the officer didn't look at ALL like HE wanted to be there! ), as well as a couple of service dogs from the city police. And one woman had the cremains of an outdoor squirrel they'd had around their place for 5 years....very sweet. But mainly, I enjoyed visiting a few moments with one of the few cats who were there as well as the many doggies who were sitting around us. I REALLY needed that fur to touch, as I was continually losing it and breaking down in tears everytime the choir started singing. By the time we went up with our pics of Nissa and Sabin for the actual Blessing, it was all I could do to try to listen to the words of the Minister, fighting as I was to hold off the tears and stop my hands from shaking. We also enjoyed the more vocal dogs who were obviously also moved by the choir's hymns, as they always joined in the singing!:D

We were actually glad the proceeds were being split this year between the support group and the city's humane society, as I have NO respect left for this particular humane society ( don't ask, or do, but prepare for more info than you'd like! ), so at least they weren't getting ALL the funds. ( not that the support group does much anymore, either......sadly, their services have dwindled to almost nothing since I first accessed them ) But overall, it was just nice to see others who felt their animals deserved as much respect and love as is given to humans.

We also spent the rest of the day with 2 families/friends, who each have their own animals, where I was trying to help one cat who'd just had massive surgery due to getting a wad of dental floss wrapped around his intestines ( they'd had to resect a huge portion of his bowel, and he's still not out of the woods ) ( and let this be a stern warning to anyone 'out there' ~ do NOT leave anything laying around that may harm a cat, or dog, if injested!!!!! Please!!!! ). So it was INCREDIBLY hard to finally come home that night.......with no one there to look after, cuddle, love.....no relationship that had grown into something so incredibly beautiful to experience on a daily basis. It's just not the same thing at ALL to visit with others' animals who don't know you, and you them, like the back of your own paw. So MY day was certainly bittersweet....but I'll likely go back next year to the Blessing, all the same.

That is SO wonderful! I'm so glad your babies were remembered and that Nissa and Sabin were blessed. Didn't it give you such a fantastic feeling during the service and after the blessing?
Oh...one police officer brought in a "police horse" to loud applause from the congregation. They had to bring in a wheelbarrow and shovel minutes later because the horse got a little overwhelmed by the attention...LOL!!!
You were not alone in "losing it". I did the same thing. Holding Precious in one hand and Patches in the carrier (Precious' old one) in the other, it felt so electric, like Precious approved and was happy all three of us were there (friends being there helped tremendously or I would have been a wreck). The priests were so nice!! I was amazed I wasn't the only one bringing an urn and a live animal together, several others around me shared their stories of loss and renewal.
I am still smiling!!!
Lisa