Heavenly help

This might get played down in church, but Father Roger LaChance assures that the good book has animals covered.

After all, Genesis says the man upstairs gave them names.

"When you name something, you know it, it's part of your existence," LaChance said.

Still, it can't hurt to make a little extra effort.

LaChance offered some insurance for other creatures' well being on Saturday morning at the Kootenai Humane Society's 13th annual pet blessing, timed just around the corner from the Feast Day of St. Francis, patron saint of animals (yeah, you bet there's one).

Apparently folks prioritized the spiritual status of canines, as a parade of dogs were led to the KHS Thrift Store so the priest could murmur a prayer, wave his hand solemnly and deliver the pups a shudder-inducing flick of water.

Louise O'Brien owes dogs as many blessings as they want, she said, because she wouldn't be standing and breathing if not for her last wheaten terrier.

It was because she walked the canine every day, she explained, that she had detected the knotted chest symptom of angina, prompting her to visit a doctor.

"The doctor said, 'You saved your own life,'" Louise said with a smile. "I said, 'It wasn't me, it was my dog.'"

They returned the favor, added her husband Patrick, by driving to a Montana animal rescue to acquire Riley, another wheaten suffering from infected ears and hind leg.

After nursing him back to health, a blessing seemed in store to keep the fluffer on the right track.

"He loves everybody. He has a great attitude toward dogs," Patrick said as Riley gingerly sniffed at a poodle. "He's definitely going to heaven."

Kyle Hadley thanked the priest boisterously after he sprinkled water on her cocker spaniel, Harley.

"He's needs all the blessings he can get," the Coeur d'Alene woman said. "He's in the terrible two stage."

Seems perfectly natural to bless a dog, she said.

They do everything together, she pointed out. Harley sits in her bicycle basket, and accompanies her everywhere four-legged creatures are allowed.

Hopefully, she added, he'll make it to heaven, too.

"I think all animals go to heaven. They just go up and wait for us," Hadley said, reaching down to scratch Harley's head. "They have a job, and they do it well."

KHS Development Coordinator Idella Mansfield said the pet blessing has always been popular.

"It brings everybody together," she said. "We're all here for KHS. It's wonderful for us to come together for one common reason."

LaChance let out a gasp as children of the Cahill family brought up their two pugs, Francis and Pudgy, for a blessing.

"The dynamic duo! Twins!" he exclaimed.

They wiggled in the children's arms as he passed his hand over their fuzzy scalps, then stopped to offer a little pat.

"OK, you might not like me, Pudgy," he warned before flicking the water and causing a puppy sneeze.

The family had prayed to St. Francis to lead them to the right pets, said Willa Cahill, which they found at a breeder through an unlikely network of friends.

She wanted pets to teach her four kids, ages 3 to 13, some responsibility, she said.

"They love it," she said. "It's really added such a dimension to our lives."

The blessing seemed a proper step for their new family members, she added, and besides, many already bless their food and themselves.

Maybe, she said, the blessing will even result in better dog behavior.

"I think having them fixed might help, too," Cahill said with a laugh. "God blessed us with animals, and we have to learn to care for them."