'People get blessed - so why not an animal?'
AUBURN, Wash. - Pets are a blessing to us - and now some owners are spiritually returning the love, allowing a local minister to bless the animals in his back yard.
The ceremony lasts a few minutes, but pet owners feel it has an everlasting impact.
One of those pet owners is Angela McDonald, who brought her dog Woody to a chapel inside a little barn this weekend.
This is where the Rev. Alec Branson blesses pets at a free ceremony, surrounded by statues of Buddha, a shrine and the smell of incense.
"May Woody and all beings find peace," he says. "Therefore I bless Woody for a long healthy and happy life."
Angela says it's the perfect place for Woody.
"He's one of our children," she says. "People get blessed - so why not an animal?"
Branson's a self-proclaimed specialist in religious studies and anthropology. He does it for one reason.
"Animals are not things. They are not commodities. They are living souls, and they need to be acknowledged as such," he says. "They're part of the family - not part of the furniture."
Woody seems to agree with that sentiment as Branson releases pink-and-white confetti over her at the end of the blessing.
"And that concludes today's ceremony," Branson says.
Some pet owners are waiting until October to have blessings. That's when many ministers bless animals for the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi - the patron saint of animals.
The ceremony lasts a few minutes, but pet owners feel it has an everlasting impact.
One of those pet owners is Angela McDonald, who brought her dog Woody to a chapel inside a little barn this weekend.
This is where the Rev. Alec Branson blesses pets at a free ceremony, surrounded by statues of Buddha, a shrine and the smell of incense.
"May Woody and all beings find peace," he says. "Therefore I bless Woody for a long healthy and happy life."
Angela says it's the perfect place for Woody.
"He's one of our children," she says. "People get blessed - so why not an animal?"
Branson's a self-proclaimed specialist in religious studies and anthropology. He does it for one reason.
"Animals are not things. They are not commodities. They are living souls, and they need to be acknowledged as such," he says. "They're part of the family - not part of the furniture."
Woody seems to agree with that sentiment as Branson releases pink-and-white confetti over her at the end of the blessing.
"And that concludes today's ceremony," Branson says.
Some pet owners are waiting until October to have blessings. That's when many ministers bless animals for the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi - the patron saint of animals.