MINISTERS WILL BLESS ANIMALS SATURDAY

Sometimes Riki Erlbacher's puppy behaves rather devilishly, yet Erlbacher plans to bring her 18-month-old cairn terrier to a pet blessing Saturday.

The Celebration of Creation service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the lawn of Old St. Vincent's Church. In case of bad weather, the service will move to the Family Life Center at Centenary United Methodist Church.

The service will honor creation and remind people of the interdependence of God's creatures, said Pam Doran of Centenary Church. It also marks the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi who had a great devotion to animals and creation.

The service should be fun for people and their pets, organizers say.

"It's not just for my devil dog," Erlbacher said. She expects people to bring all varieties of pets, from cats and dogs to a few exotics. Arrangements have been made for trailer parking should horse owners wish to attend.

Erlbacher isn't sure that her 41-year-old horse will be up to the trip but expects to bring Hogan, the cairn terrier puppy. She said his boundless energy has been "a character builder."

Some people might think the service is sacrilegious, but it shows that people want to be good stewards of their animals, Erlbacher said, and "it's an old custom in Europe that all Christians, Catholics and Jews participated in."

Pets bring so much joy that people should celebrate them, she said.