Blessing of the Animals, 2010

For the fifth year running we trundled tables, chairs, and dog biscuits to the Foster City Dog Park. Monday was the Feast of Saint Francis; it was time to honor the gentle patron saint of animals and the beasts who bring us joy.

Dogs comprised the majority of the petitioners, but there were cats and guinea pigs who also received the laying-on of hands. One of the priests was allergic to cat hair, so felines were diverted to the other member of the collared duo. (It was the only instance of discrimination that I have witnessed in the Northern California Episcopal Church.)

Ladies from the Homeless Cat Network passed out brochures that promoted the necessity to reduce the population of feral cats. HCN's efforts to spay, neuter, feed, and adopt abandoned felines not only protect the cats but also the other wildlife of the Bay.

In earlier years we had distributed flyers at the supermarkets and run ads in the community papers, achieving little success. This year we posted announcements on Craigslist and the Foster City electronic marquee. In the future we intend to try facewall-writing, tweeting, and other cutting-edge modes of communication. If there's only something we can do about stopping the rash from the cat hair....

A reporter from Patch.com showed up.

Her article may be found here.