Thursday, October 07, 1999
Pets special on this day
Children bring wide variety of animals for blessing
BY DOUG TRAPP
Enquirer Contributor
GLENDALE — Dozens of pets, including horses, birds and a ferret, received their annual blessing Wednesday at Bethany School.
Blessing of the Pets marks the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Oct. 4.
“St. Francis had a great love for creation,” said Franciscan Brother Scott Obrecht, adding that St. Francis often expressed that love through kindness to animals.
Bethany School — which instructs more than 260 children of various religious backgrounds, from kindergar ten through eighth grade — has been holding pet blessings for more than 20 years.
“This is something that children look forward to year after year,” said Cheryl Pez, Bethany's head of school. “Some of the pets have been blessed year after year.”
Previous blessings have included a tiger from the Cincinnati Zoo, turtles and snakes.
Orange cardboard signs on stakes divided the small field among birds, cats, dogs, insects, fish and “other animals,” which probably referred to “Chucky Finster Pickles,” a small green African frog named after charac ters from the Rugrats cartoon.
Margie Kessler of Sycamore Township, whose two children attend Bethany, held Chucky and two goldfish in two glass jars.
Pet owners sang “All Things Bright and Beautiful” while some of the dogs tried to mingle, a hamster sprinted on a wheel attached to its plastic playhouse and two birds chirped in their cage. The Rev. Raymond Sturm, school chaplain, used a branch to sprinkle holy water on the giggling crowd, then began individual pet blessings.
Three horses also attend ed the event, including Sahad, a white Arabian owned by 5-year-old Kaitlyn Gronauer of West Chester.
Kaitlyn's love for her horse is complicated by an allergic reaction to Sahad, an allergy discovered only after Sahad was bought.
Still, “the horse is kind of the only thing she's interested in at the house,” said her mother, Stephanie.
Sahad attracted a crowd of students as Kaitlyn retreated to her mother's side.
“Kids are enjoying your horse, aren't they?” Mrs. Gronauer asked before Kaitlyn sneezed.
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