Blessing the Beasts, 2009

Today, October 4th, churches throughout the world celebrated the Feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment. As in years past, it was the day to spread the Blessing of the Animals to other members of the community.

Temperatures were mild, and the sun shone brightly on the small group of priests and laity who headed over to the Foster City Dog Park. Passersby, both two- and four-legged, stopped to chat, bark, meow, or squeal and have a prayer bestowed on their household.

The lady from the Homeless Cat Network again joined us. She said that the population of stray cats in the mid-Peninsula wetlands had been reduced to below one hundred. Feral felines are a menace to birds and other wildlife, and cat- and bird-lovers are united in the desire to reduce the number of strays. An aggressive program of spaying and neutering, monitoring through microchip implantation, and establishing cat feeding stations away from where the birds like to congregate has been successful. Fowl fanciers have grudgingly conceded that more drastic measures to control the cat population are unnecessary.

I lamented to a companion how few kids we saw in the park. With their over-scheduled and over-electronicized lives, children don’t experience the pleasure of languishing on a Sunday afternoon amidst the grass and trees.

We can’t tear them away from their cellphones and computers, I opined, as I clicked my iPhone camera and emailed a commemorative photo to a happy dog-owner. Two other ladies said that they showed up because of our posting on Craigslist. OK, so, we can’t turn back the clock (digital clocks only move forward anyway).

Just remember that we get our allotment of Vitamin D from real sunlight, not the glow from a computer screen. Going for a walk is beneficial to both dogs and their owners. Saint Francis, I suspect, would applaud. © 2009 Stephen Yuen