Dan's Papers - May 30, 2008

At United Methodist Church in Cutchogue, some animals were blessed last week. They were brought up to the front lawn where each pet was blessed individually by Pastor Mary Helen Crump or by Pastor George Summers, visiting from Advent Lutheran Church in Mattituck.

Each pet even received a certificate commemorating the blessing. And a fine blessing it was! It was a prayer of gratitude for all the good the pet brought into the world and a request for the pet's good health. Even the pet owners, those who provide love and care, were blessed.

Now let's hear about the pets and the people. There were some folks who were "just looking." Like Jeanette Cooper of New Suffolk and her three kids, Tom, Robert and Anna. And Jeanette's Southold nephew, Joseph. Later Jeanette was joined by her father-in-law, Sherwood Cooper, also of New Suffolk. Sherwood had his three-year-old Corgi with him. The Corgi's name? Winston Churchill. This may have been the Corgi's finest hour. And not a cigar in sight!

Then I spied April Sky, a five-year-old Golden Retriever accompanied by Southold's Amy Rogers, her daughter Rebecca, and Amy's picture-taking husband, Randy. The Rogers have a couple of cats at home, Boo and Cupcake, but they're shy and would prefer an at-home blessing. You know how cats are.

The next little dog, a Bichon Frise, was wearing a bright red coat. (It was a bit chilly.) Six-year-old Fluffer was with her Cutchogue owner, Jan Case, also in a bright red jacket. Fluffer and Jan, along with Jan's husband, Ernie, do quite a bit of traveling. Like to California and Nova Scotia. I suspect the blessing may have been one for the road. I'd like to go along with 'em. Jan and Ernie were really friendly. So was Fluffer.

By the way, did I mention that Pastor Summers and his wife, Lynn, brought along one of their own pets? Chessie, a 15-year-old cat, named after the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad mascot, of course.

I should be impartial, I know, but I thought one of the most beautiful dogs barking to be blessed was a three-year-old Chocolate Labrador named Sadie. Riverhead's Robbie Hopkins, who does all kinds of custodial work at the Cutchogue church, rescued young Sadie from an abusive environment and now Sadie glows with the love Robbie gives her. Sadie loves water. One day Robbie stopped for coffee at a Riverhead McDonald's and Sadie jumped right into the Peconic River behind the restaurant. Sadie also enjoys a certain Southampton ocean beach. Well, that's OK. The South Fork has a few nice places.

Gillian Pultz, director of Southold Town Animal Shelter, came by, too. With her was Banshee, a four-year-old Pit Bull, obedient and well behaved. And Bianca, an 18-month-old cat, long haired and so pretty. Both are available for adoption. That, indeed would be a blessing.

Lest I forget, pet refreshments were served. Randy Rogers brought lots of Bow Wow Bacon Balls and other stuff. The Bacon Balls looked good to me. Ingredients? Wheat flour, wheat germ, bacon, eggs, and water. Four stars, Randy.

The afternoon concluded with a hike across the church lawn to the adjacent Schmitt Family Farm. Behind the fence were Schmitt sheep, goats, geese. The pastors blessed them all and the Reverend Crump reminded us that "people can come to God through their pets."

I said my goodbyes and turned toward my car. But not before I saw something else on the Schmitt Family Farm. A horse. A big brown horse that smiled at me.