PET BLESSING ASSISTS SHELTER; PARTICIPANTS TAKE ANIMALS TO CHURCH

"Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth. They went two and two unto Noah..." Genesis 7:8, 7:9

Noah had the ability to take the animals two at a time into the ark; he knew they weren't going to eat each other. At St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau Wednesday night, the pastor, the Rev. Milton Ryan, and the associate pastor, the Rev. Joe Williams, anointed nearly 100 animals in the church's annual pet blessing.

"We Catholics love to bless things," Ryan said. "But this is going to be a quick ceremony. Last year I noticed that we basically had the food chain out here, and I thought it was best if we got the blessing over with quickly before they realized that."

Hamsters, rabbits, dogs and cats were in abundance on the front lawn of the parish as Ryan and Williams stepped carefully through the crowd with twigs and holy water.

Ryan, a professed animal lover, said he asked the students of Notre Dame High School to bring something to the blessing that would help the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. Bags of dog and cat food, kitty litter and newspapers were stacked near the front door of the parish before the last blessing ended.

"I saw an article the Southeast Missourian had on its front page last week about how the Humane Society was in need of some basic supplies," he said. "I asked the students if they would like to help these homeless animals. Maybe during the blessing people might realize that not all animals have people that love them and take care of them."

Kathy Lozada of Cape Girardeau has two pets that she loves and takes care of. She was at the blessing with Gizmo, a 6-year-old peek-apoo, and Toni, an 11-year-old long-haired cat. She was hoping the blessing might help Gizmo's skin problem and give her a few more years with the aging cat.

She was also a big contributor to the Humane Society, taking 20 pounds of dog food, 10 pounds of cat food and 4 pounds of kitty litter to the parish.

Susan and her daughter Lauren Sulser brought Oreo, a rat terrier, to the event for his first blessing.

"It's comforting to have him blessed," Susan Sulser said. "He's one of God's creatures."