Pet Blessing held at Gough Park on Saturday

Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 04 October 2015 04 October 2015

Pets are Blessed in Gough Park 100315

Article and Photos by Shirin McArthur

Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015 Pet Blessing 2015

Pet Blessing 2015

Gough Park felt the paw-prints of dozens of dogs and cats, as well as more unusual pets, on Saturday as the Silver City Ministerial Alliance and Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd hosted a Blessing of the Animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of all God's creatures.

Some of the more unusual pets to make an appearance included a horse, two donkeys and a tiny turtle. The blessing ceremony, which was held three times between 10 am and 2 pm, included a hymn, prayers, and a blessing for each animal present.

Jene Moseley brought her horse Raffi all the way from Mancos Valley for a blessing. She declared that the horse might be more in need of an exorcism and laughingly shared the story of the time she found him in the kitchen of her home, opening a package of dog treats that he had discovered there. Raffi certainly seemed to be making friends with everyone he met, searching their hands and pockets for possible treats and trying to eat any hats and clergy stoles that he could reach.

In addition to a variety of pets and their owners, a number of organizations came to Gough Park and set up booths. Attendees could learn more about pet care and healthy pet foods, as well as SNAP, the Grant County Spay-Neuter Awareness Program. Brewer Hill Baptist Church was offering barbeque lunches and Frumpy Fox was giving away free dog treats.

The High Desert Humane Society brought along a number of dogs of all ages who were available for adoption. Participants could walk the dogs if they liked, and all the dogs were also blessed during the ceremony. Frances Vasquez was giving away hot dogs and chips, and any donations she received toward the food were given to the High Desert Humane Society.

This is the fourth year that the Ministerial Alliance has held this Blessing of the Animals in Gough Park. The Rev. Paul Moore, Priest at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, stated that the number of participants is growing each year. The ceremony is held on the first weekend of October to coincide with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.