Stonington church blesses pets, gives thanks for all the joy, love they give their owners

Sep. 8—STONINGTON — As the United Church of Stonington held its first "Blessing of the Animals" on Sunday, resident Mary Hyde walked by with her husband and their 6-year-old Newfydoodle dog named Bodie.

As they did, Pastor John Carboni, who led the outdoor service from a pulpit on the church steps, and a few of the 20 who sat in folding chairs in the audience, beckoned them to come join and get their dog blessed.

"And I mean, what a beautiful thing, to have a blessing of the animals," Hyde said afterward. "How could you say no?

Others who attended the service brought their dogs or cats, or pictures of them ― either printouts or photos on their phone. There were three dogs, a cat and at least five who brought photos.

"To me, this is one of the most fun things I get to do, because I love seeing all the animals," Carboni told the crowd. "And a lot of the Sundays, there's quite a few service dogs (here). And if they bark or howl, I don't care ― they're a new choir member."

Carboni, who had done a similar blessing at other churches, joked that "at least there's no goat this time," referencing that he had also blessed donkeys before.

Just dogs and cats, this time. When it came time for their blessing, Carboni instructed all owners to gather in a circle around the pulpit. They went around and said their pets' names.

"This is Stella," one said.

"And that's my Chloe," said another.

"That's Buddy, and (his brother) is hiding under the blanket. He took one look at me this morning and ran into the cellar," said Scot Huntington, the church organist.

Once all names had been said, Carboni had each owner place a hand on their animal, or over the picture of the animal, as he delivered the blessing.

"May the power of this blessing from Christ fill you with life and bind you to your human partners. And lead you to praise your creator. Amen," he said.

Afterward, Carboni asked them all to join in a prayer of thanksgiving.

Penny Cleare, of Pawcatuck, said in her mind, the blessing of her 6-year-old Shih Tzu mix was so that she can remain healthy and joyful. Cleare also said she took care of some stray cats that had been living underneath a porch next door. Since she started caring for them, they had three kittens. She had brought a picture of one of the kittens, Scout, to get blessed.

Animals are "such a gift of joy and comfort," Cleare said. "And you know, I was saying health for them, but they're healing for us ― when you're going through life's joys and challenges. They're just so healing."

Carboni too, had a deep relationship with animals, even though he said his parents wouldn't let him get one until he was 16. Before that, he had fostered a love of animals through visits to a farm owned by his best friend. Then at 16, Carboni said he took home a stray dog and his father let him keep it. Since then, he's owned animals for most of his life.

"God has blessed us with all of his creation. And, to me, each animal has such a distinct personality," Carboni had said earlier. "Some are hyper. Some are calm. I think some actually do have ADHD. And some are just loving and caring. When they know you're sick they cuddle up to you. When they know something's wrong, they nudge you. They have a sense that we're not always aware of. Sometimes, we don't even pick it up in other human beings."

"Today we give thanks for all those creatures," he added. "There's so many of them."

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