Blessed be the creatures

Cheri wasn’t quite the same after that. She missed her mom terribly, which might explain why she died, too, last year.

And well, that left Carmelita Ferrone without a canine friend in the world. She couldn’t go on without another poodle, her favorite breed, so she drove all the way from her home in Atlanta to a breeder in Alabama, and that’s where she found Babette.

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Alison Church/Special

Ten-year-old Jack Kirkpatrick holds Charlie, a friend’s cat, as he waits for the pet blessing ceremony to begin.

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Alison Church/Special

Lizzie Hickman keeps an eye on the sheltie-mix Rusher, as her daughter May May (center), and friend Clare Wheeler take turns playing with the dog at Peachtree Christian Church.

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Alison Church/Special

Tom Harris (right), interim senior minister, says a prayer for Amanda Hill’s cat Pickles during the annual pet blessing ceremony at Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta.

It didn’t take Ferrone long to see that Babette, though as cute as could be, was nothing like Deja or Cheri. Deja was smart. Cheri was sweet and, well, Babbette was Babbette, not at all the angel she first seemed to be.

“She’s spirited,” said Ferrone. “That’s why she needs blessing.”

That seemed to be the thinking of quite a number of folk on Sunday struggling at the end of leashes, cajoling one pet or another to sit on the lawn of Peachtree Christian Church downtown.

St. Francis of Assisi, no doubt, was turning in his grave. Then again, he could’ve been having a great big laugh as the good masters, in his honor, had come to ask God’s blessings on their canine and feline friends.

“Do you, in gratitude to God for your pets, promise to care for their needs, protect them from harm and treat them with kindness worthy of God’s good creation?” a minister asked.

“With gratitude for our pets, we do,” they promised in unison.

Babette batted her eyes, licked her lips, and you couldn’t help but wonder what she might be thinking.

“Where have you taken me now?” Ferrone guessed.

It was the fourth time in as many years Ferrone had brought Babette to the ceremony, which has grown so much it takes three ministers to administer the blessings.

The first time the church held the ceremony, oh, seven years ago, there was only one minister to do the honor, but who thought 250 people would show up to have their pets blessed?

On this Sunday, there are cats and dogs only, about 100 of them in all. In previous years, it wasn’t unusual to see horses and goldfish and even a parrot or two.

“One year there was a donkey here,” said Ferrone.

If you’re wondering how an ass might act on the church ground, give it a rest. Ferrone said that ceremony got off without a hitch, but then it could be because Sadie and Homer didn’t show up.

Sadie was born a Doberman and Homer a mix between a Great Dane and a bloodhound. In others words, Homer is a 13-year-old big mutt.

Matt Brown and his boys Zachary and Dakota, of Woodstock, found him at a pet store about four years ago.

Homer was a rescue dog who’d been passed around from rescue shelter to rescue shelter.

He played it good and put his head in everybody’s lap like any dog longing for a place to belong would and, well, the Browns couldn’t resist.

And so here they were once again seeking a blessing for the family pet and Sadie, who belongs to 15-year-old Zachary. They would have brought the two mischievous miniature dachshunds along too, but this was a blessing ceremony not an exorcism.

“They’re sweet with us,” Brown said, but outside of that there’s no telling what those little “wiener dogs” might do. One of them seems to like mailman meat, least that’s what the letter insinuated when it arrived from the post office warning Brown to get some control of said animals.

Oops, wait a minute. Sadie wants to play with Rosie, but she ain’t interested. Sadie barks her displeasure, and the two part company.

Why, look who just showed up? It’s Buc Chambers, who by the way is the spitting image of Uga but no relation except he’s a bulldog, too.

Buc Chambers is 9 and has a brother named Colonel who is 11. His grandfather Jax was a champion dog from Greenville, S.C. Buc, though, lives in Atlanta with his human mom, Nancy Chambers.

This is their first time attending the pet blessing ceremony.

“I’m telling you, he’s a mess,” Nancy Chambers confessed with a smile. “He needs a blessing.”

Oh, Lord, there’s that word again, better get on with the ceremony.

“Blessed be God creator of all,” a minister prays. “Bless, keep and protect each of these pets that they may live according to your plan and be a source of love and joy to those with whom they dwell.”

Amen.