INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Approximately 100 dogs and one cat received a special blessing at the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County Saturday to kickoff National Be Kind to Animals Week, which runs through May 11.
More dogs, a few other cats, and even a couple horses received the blessing via their photographs shared on paper, cell phone screens and tablets.
Among those in attendance was 8-year-old Bobby, a 133-pound Giant Schnauzer. His human, Joan Herschel, brought him to the annual Blessing of the Animals because of his age.
“And to keep him in good health,” Herschel said.
The large dog, the size of a small horse, calmly took in the sights and sounds of the other canines waiting for their own blessings. At times, he sprawled on the floor, barring easy passage by those who would walk by.
Herschel also brought Daisy Mae, a Shih Tzu who needs more energy.
“One thing, she’s too fat,” Herschel said with a chuckle, noting that she’d ask the priest to give a special blessing to Daisy Mae for help with her diet.
Nine-year-old Snuggles, a Ragdoll, was the lone cat in attendance this year. In previous years, the blessing brought out several furry felines.
Mary Walters said she brings Snuggles every year to the blessing “that she continue in good health.”
Snuggles seemed nonplussed by the pack of dogs surrounding her. She curled up in Walters’s lap during the ceremony and laid calmly against her human’s shoulder as they stood in line for the blessing.
“It’s amazing,” Walters said of the indoor-never-been-around-other-animals cat. “She just accepts everyone.”
It’s that accepting attitude Rev. Father Christopher Rodriguez said echoes God the Creator.
“I think it’s important to see…we see, I think a little bit of God in them,” he said. Like God, animals love first, they initiate contact.
