Prayer for Pups

Marge Hooie bows her head and smiles as the Rev. Brian Bagley-Bonner waves his hand over her dog, Piper, a chubby beagle/pug mix, and begins a prayer of blessing.

Bagley-Bonner, pastor of Faith United Church of Christ, welcomed Piper and about a dozen other dogs and their families April 19, for the church’s first Blessing of the Animals event in nearly a decade.

“A lot of people don’t think animals go to heaven because they don’t have spirits, but I don’t believe that,” Hooie says later, while resting in the shade at a picnic table, with her nearly 9-year-old dog. “I know God loves animals just as much as he loves us.”

Blessing of the Animals events traditionally fall on or around Oct. 4, in celebration of the Feast of St. Francis. But the church decided to hold it on Holy Saturday because that date already had passed.

“We decided to do it because a lot of people have very loving relationships with their pets and it’s important to show that,” Bagley-Bonner says.

Linda Anderson brought her two dachshunds, Bandit and Peanut Butter, who happily mingled with the other dogs, including her son’s, a husky named Naomi.

“I’ve always wanted them blessed,” Anderson says. “It just seems right. I figured a little blessing couldn’t (be a bad thing).”

Attendee Diane Becher, who came with her friend and church member M.R. Lembright, brought their dog, Gracie. Becher says the 8-month-old pup shows her mischievous side by chewing up shoes, jumping on guests and exhibiting “uncontrolled licking.”

“I was hoping Pastor Brian could give an exorcism, but I don’t know if it worked yet,” Becher confesses, laughing. “She’s full of energy.”

Bagley-Bonner says he hopes to offer the event annually going forward — maybe even twice a year — to accommodate both year-round and seasonal church and community members.

An excerpt from the ceremony led by the rev. Brian Bagley-Bonner:
“We come today to celebrate and honor the beings that bless us with their presence and their love. They keep us as a human race from being alone. Truly, we find in them comfort, laughter, joy and acceptance.

Humans have sometimes suggested that somehow our animal companions are less than us, even suggesting there is no room in heaven for them. But that is all foolish, human hubris. We have learned, as we have explored God’s amazing creation, that we are all from the same cosmic family tree. All beings on Earth, indeed in the whole cosmos, are made of the stuff of stars.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].