Furry Friends

At the starting line the excitement was palpable, the air filled with riotous barking, yelps and howls. We were about to begin our "Wag and Walk" event, when the local community get together with their canine friends and everyone goes for a 3 km walk around the suburb and up and down the volcanoes. My two lovely little Bichon Frise girls, Bella and Millie, with their bright merry and inquisitive nature and white curly coats, were straining at the leash.

It was a bit like a scene from the book "Hairy Mclary from Donaldson Dairy" - there was Hercules Morse as big as a horse, Muffin McClay like a bundle of hay … Some tiny dogs looked no bigger than a rat on a leash, some hurly burly ones had the most incredible wrinkles and creases, and some were even dressed up with bows and jackets. One little girl doggie was dressed in a little pink tutu with black lacy leggings. The outfit had come from Japan! It must have been in the running for the prize for the best dressed dog. All doggies were very good natured and everyone commented on how well behaved they were. And the humans were pretty good natured and well behaved too.

But a day later we found Millie limping and whining when we touched her paw. Off we went to the vet who had to sedate poor Millie in order to clean and bandage her paw as she was howling so much - she is quite the Drama Queen. The vet said she must have stood on something on the walk which had infected her paw. A couple of hundred dollars later we took her home with strict instructions on nursing care, having to bathe Millie's foot twice a day, apply special ointment and rebandage with a little sock. All those odd kids socks finally came into use. Poor Millie was so distressed, her little body shaking with the ordeal, looking up at us with big brown mournful eyes. There can be no doubt that animals feel pain if not more than humans do.

So Millie had to miss the next doggie event when my gospel choir sang at a Francis of Assisi (the patron saint of animals) church service, a special ceremony for the blessing of animals. The whole church was packed with animals - dogs, cats, rabbits, budgies and cockatiels in cages, and the air was filled with a cacophony of howling, mewing, barking and tweeting. In between the humans sitting in the pews were big hairy dogs, some little old ladies holding their lap poodles with pretty bows in their hair and a couple of big dogs having a bit of a rough and tumble in the front. It was a most surreal moment when sitting up in the front pew overlooking the church I could see Bella, her tail wagging enthusiastically with a big smile on her face. The choir raised our voices to the heavens but were pretty much drowned out by the howls and barking.

"This is like something out of the Vicar of Dimbleby" said the Minister with an American Baltimore drawl, to which his congregation barked and mewed enthusiastically. "If only we could be more like our furry friends, always happy, always caring, not in need of a fix of coffee in the morning to wake ourselves up, or alcohol to make ourselves happy". (Later my hubby thought that that was a lot of dogswollop!)

The Minister reminded the congregation that we are all God's creatures and of the scriptures of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, to protect and enjoy nature. Legend has it that St Francis, on his deathbed thanked his donkey for carrying and helping him throughout his life, and his donkey wept.

A spokesperson from the RSPCA then spoke about the cruelty to animals today especially with the way we treat animals for mass food production. We have lost any sense that animals, like humans are sentient beings who feel pain as strongly as we do.

Later a haphazard queue formed as the Minister blessed the dogs, cats, budgies, rabbits and even a goat. Bella got a pat on the head and the sign of the crucifixion, but somehow I think she might have felt more blessed if she had been given a big juicy bone. It certainly would have put a big smile on her face.