The Divine, with the canines and felines

Cats and dogs dominated an event called lsquoBlessing of the Petsrsquo held on Sunday October 13 morning at Our Lady of Health Church in Cavel Kalbadevi Held annually in October Fr Joe DrsquoSouza parish priest blessed pets brought in by owners and parishioners He has been doing this at parishes across the city for years He conducts the blessing at the parish he is at that particular year The Blessing of the Pets is in honour of St Francis of Assisi patron saint of animals A sweltering Sunday saw many owners arrive at the church located on the narrow and crowded St Viegas street to see that their animals receive a blessingCat coolSajan N brought in a cat named Butterscotch In fact one could say a small blessing itself that this was a cat and not an ice cream as it would have melted in no time in the October heatSajan said ldquoWe named our Persian ginger Tabby Butterscotch after my sonrsquos favourite ice cream flavour It is our duty to take our pets where they cannot go themselvesrdquoOwners and parishioners at Our Lady of Health Church Cavel Kalbadevi PICSHADAB KHANA Beagle named lsquoSoxrsquo was brought in by owners from Malad The family said bringing a pet here ldquois a way of showing acceptance and inclusion This is also a oneofakind initiative We want people to demonstrate compassion and kindness instead of simply shooing strays awayrdquo Sox was quite the wise senior citizen around Then there was the Labrador Zoe at seven years five years younger than Sox brought in by the Vaz family from ChemburBark harkBy now the church silence was broken with some sharp barks The generally wellbehaved animals were restless and straining at the leash The arrival of Fr Joe DrsquoSouza to begin the blessings was a calming presence Fr DrsquoSouza weaved between the animals easily exchanging pleasantries with owners recalling anecdotes and exchanges with some Two Shih Tzus Chico and Pepe belonging to Breach Candy residents Raunaq and Henna Rajani looked on as the owners said ldquoWe really appreciate this initiative Fortunately we learnt about this blessingrdquoSpecial feelingDonna Rodrigues holding her French Bulldog stated ldquoThis is so unique and moving in its own wayrdquo Susan Caldeiro who was at the church from Khar West did not have a pet She explained ldquoI used to have pets but it is incredibly hard when they pass away I now do not have a pet for this reason Yet as a dog lover I have brought treats for all the animals hererdquo she stated unwrapping the treats as the canines sniffed in excitementFr Joe DrsquoSouza parish priest blessed pets PICSHADAB KHANLittle water bowls were also set up on the ground so one had to look sharp lest one trip over these though the animals would not have minded as to err is human and to forgivehellip canine or feline as the case is hereStoic faithSisters Jeanne and Veena Pintorsquos cat lsquoBabyrsquo was blind and suffered from epileptic fits They said ldquoThis blessing is so important for Baby We hope she recoversrdquo and added ldquoThe important thing is to have faith when one comes here faith in the blessing to improve and healrdquo they saidAnother feline Ginger was at church too as Meghna Mascarenhas reminded ldquoWe must realise that animals too have emotions and feelingsrdquo We need them ldquoas much or perhaps more than they need usrdquo stated several owners with Joel George pointing to his Boxer dog Akira calling all pets ldquostress bustersrdquoThere was a flutter of excitement quite literally as a pair of doves were also brought in in a basket with many whispering excitedly lsquoDoveshellip dovesrsquoMoment silence for Ratan TataThen Fr DrsquoSouza told everybody to stand up to observe a minutersquos silence for Ratan Tata whose fondness for dogs is part of Ratan Tata lore Fr DSouza in his address spoke about a couple of crows who used to lsquovisitrsquo him when he was in the Fort parish ldquoI would put a morsel of bread in their beaksrdquoHe then asked owners whose pets have been sick to come forward to be blessed with a special prayer gave blessings and a sprinkle of holy water bringing an interesting morning to a close The priest ended with a memorable signoff as he said ldquoRemember God spelt forward or backwards is still a manrsquos best friendrdquo putting the wow into the bow bows and meows