Blessings bestowed on furry friends at Dixon school’s ceremony

A priest, a horse and a pair of guinea pigs walk into a school.

Now if I know me, I’ll spend far too much thought trying to concoct a reasonably funny punchline to this set up before settling on something groan inducing, but let’s continue.

Of course it’s not a joke, it actually happened Thursday, Oct. 3, at St. Mary’s School in Dixon. Along with dogs, cats and, uh, maybe a rabbit or a lizard, all gathered on the playground at the school for the annual blessing of the pets.

The mass “blessification” took place on the eve of the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Students and parents took pictures, offered head scratches and hugged their furry friends as The Rev. John Evans of St. Patrick Church sprinkled all with holy water. There was so much to see in such a short time that I mostly just made my way around and snapped pictures of any sort of interaction between pets and people.

The next few sentences might not make any sense unless you see the whole photo gallery so be sure to do that now.

In one photo, the tongue of the pooch and the owner’s shirt are the same color. I’ve never seen a dog that needed a good blessing as much as this one; that look is pure mischief. The motherly cradling of the guinea pigs is quite sweet and loving. Everyone loved seeing the horse.

I expect to be back next year and hopefully I can spot that lizard.

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Fr. John Evans blesses a pooch Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 at St. Mary’s School in Dixon. (Alex T. Paschal)