The Feast Of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, is held every year during the first weekend in October. What better way to celebrate animal rescue than to participate in a blessing of the animals! Reverend Julie Fisher of Christ Episcopal Church

Reverand Julie Fisher held and blessed Bravo the ex-cockfighting rooster.

in Kent invited the Happy Trails crew and rescued creatures to join her congregation in a very special blessing of the animals and to bring some of the animal representatives to the service. No matter what your religious beliefs are, the service was beautiful and heartwarming, just as the story here that follows!

The Happy Trails two-vehicle volunteer crew arrived Sunday morning, October 4th, at 118 South Mantua Street in Kent, in the parking lot of Christ Episcopal Church. Two chairs labeled "Happy Trails" held our parking spaces nearest to the door, for we had quite the cargo to unload. 

Out of the vehicles came an

Happy Trails volunteer Shawn Tusko, holds Sonny the duck as Reverand Fisher blesses him in the church yard.

assortment of animals, including Odessa the goat who had to have an eye removed due to severe neglect, Chesney and Bravo, both former cockfighting roosters, and Sonny and Cher, two white Pekin ducks. When we lifted Kachina, the baby mini horse, out of the back of the van, we also then discovered Happy Trails volunteer Yasmin Aral, whose legs had went to sleep while she held and steadied the cute little horsy youngster on the short ride down Route 59 from Ravenna to Kent. 

Reverend Julie Fisher of the Christ Episcopal Church, had graciously invited the folks and rescued animals of Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary to participate in a special blessing of the animals which

Chairo the grey domestic goose youngster is settled happily in the arms of Yasmin Aral, Happy Trails volunteer and rescue worker, while Reverand Julie Fisher extends a blessing to the curious gosling.

was to take place on the feast day of St. Francis, patron saint of animals and known for his compassion and care for all animals. We chose certain animals who would represent the many, many abused and neglected animals that arrive daily through the rehab programs of Happy Trails.

The cockfighting roosters represented the nearly 50 roosters that were brought to Happy Trails several years ago due to a raid in Loraine County which

Mindy Tusko, Happy Trails volunteer, reassures Odessa the one-eyed goat during Odessa's special animal blessing.

removed a mass amount of cockfighting birds. They also represented all the animals who are used for violent amusement and who are forced to fight to their death.  The ducks and young goose represented all the chickens, ducks, and geese, who are purchased every year as cute baby chicks during special holidays such as Easter. Most of these babies that are sold are purchased by people who have no idea how to take care of them and who do not have proper facilities to provide for their needs properly. Most of these baby chicks and ducklings die before the have a chance to grow up. Those that do grow up are often then conveniently dumped at a local pond or lake, with their owners mistakenly thinking that these feathered friends can fend for themselves in a wild setting. They cannot, and often become food for local predators such as coyotes, fox, mink, stray dogs, and raccoons. During cold and icy weather, since they are domestic they cannot fly away in search of food or shelter or safety.  The goat represented all the animals in the food production industry who are cruelly treated and whose wounds, illnesses or injuries are left untreated, and the way to "fix" their medical needs are to send them to slaughter. The baby mini horse represented all the neglected, abused and

Reverand Julie Fisher and myself (Annette) squat down to the level of Kachina the mini horse while she received her blessing on behalf of all the rescued horses. The kids who were present were thrilled to meet the farm animals!

abandoned horses in the Happy Trails equine rescue program, as well as all the horses that arrive at Happy Trails through our Amish Horse Retirement Program.

The cages filled with ducks, roosters and the goose were permitted to be set right in front of the beautiful altar at the very front of the church. The volunteers with the Odessa the goat and Kachina the mini horse sat in the back in a special area with an additional carpet for well, you know - just incase!

As the choir began to sing with the beautiful voices of angels, the ducks, goose and roosters broke into song also. Even from our seats in the back of the church we could hear our animal choir joining in with the people choir. Much to our relief, no-one seemed to mind. The blend of animal and human song was glorious to hear, since it was day to celebrate the animals in our lives and to acknowledge how our lives are intertwined with

Shawn Tusko cuddled Chesney, a rooster rescued from a horrible cockfighting situation. Chesney's comb had been brutally but off and he has lost the ends of his toes.

theirs.

I was very impressed with the presentation and the thought-provoking sermon that Reverend Julie shared with the folks in attendence. I received permission to re-print her inspiring words below. No matter what your religious preference, faith-base, or personal beliefs, I hope her words will give you food for thought also!

Presentation Printed With Permission By Reverend Julie Fisher, Christ Episcopal Church

"Today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis is famous for seeking to be just like Jesus in everything he did. He took Jesus' teachings to heart about loving your neighbor as yourself, and caring for the poor. Just like Jesus, Francis lived a modest lifestle, not owning or using more than he needed to live a reasonably comfortable life and sharing everything he had with the poor. In fact, Francis so closely resembled Jesus in his lifestyle and personality that he was the very first saint in history to receive from God a miraculous imprint on his hands, feet and side of Jesus' crucifixion wounds. You could say that those marks were God's seal of approval for Francis' desire

Mindy Tusko and Bravo the cockfighting rooster, both bow their heads as Bravo received his blessing on behalf of all the animals forced to fight to their death.

to be just like Jesus.

And besides being just like Jesus, Francis was also known as a special friend to animals. Caring about animals like that was very unusual for someone in Francis' time. In the Middle Ages, most people believe that animals didn't have souls, and that they were put on this earth to be used for food and clothing and free labor. Francis disagreed. He tamed wild animals, went way out of his way to treat domestic animals with exceptional kindness, and even preached to a flock of birds.  (Here Reverend Julie chuckled and included - 'Much like I am doing today' as she looked

Kids flocked (great pun, huh?) to pet the ducks, held here by Shawn and Mindy Tusko!

out at the cages of ducks, chickens and the goose from Happy Trails!)

Many of Francis' followers didn't understand his love for animals. They thought is was extreme, and attributed it to a weird quirk of his personality. The reasoned that Francis was so tender-hearted and loving that he even loved...animals. They didn't make the connection between Francis' love for animals and Francis' imitation of Jesus in all things, because after all, Jesus didn't say much about animals. But in reality, Francis' love for animals was a piece of his love for his neighbors, because Francis believed that animals are our neighbors too. So Franci thought that whatever Jesus said about how we

Happy Trails volunteer, Yasmin Aral chats with Reverend Julie about all the feathered friends who waited patiently in their cages for their turn to be blessed.

treat our neighbors was applicable to how we should treat animals.

So what do you think?  Do you think animals are our neighbors?

Well, it's hard NOT to see animals as our neighbors. They live side by side with us in our world. We're all part of the same neighborhood — our shared ecosystem. And companion animals live right in our houses with us (or in the case of my house, sleeping right in my bed and stealing the covers). If the definition of a neighbor is the person who lives near you, then animals definitely qualify as our neighbors.

And beyond being our neighbor, many animals are also poor. Not because animals generally don't own property (although now that we know that many kinds of animals can make and use tools, I daresay that lots of animals do own property).

No sense in letting members of the congregation stand around with nothing to do. "Ma'am, could you please hold onto Odessa the goat?" This wonderful woman was such a good sport — we are sorry we didn't catch your name!

But if poverty is defined as lacking the means of adequate subsistence, then for sure there are millions of animal today who meet the definintion of being poor. All around us there are endangered species who lack the habitat that need to survive. On many farms, animals lack the adequate space, light and company of others of their kind they need to live a reasonably healthy life. And abused and neglected animals lack basic food, shelter and personal safety. Some of our animal guests here today were rescued from just such a situation of poverty, abuse and neglect. The roosters here from Happy Trails Farm Animal sanctuary were forced to fight one another to the death for the amusement of human bystanders. That's no way to treat our neighbors.

So all animals are our neighbors, and many animals are poor. So if God calls us to seek the welfare of our neighbors, and to relieve the needs of the poor, then our duty towards animals is plain.

We should imitate Jesus and Francis by living a modest lifestyle, not owning or using more than we need to live a reasonably comfortable life. That would cut down on (or dare I say even eliminate?) our use of animals for food and clothing and free labor. It would also relieve the pressure on the environment that's harming both our wild and domesticated animal neighbors and us. And if we treated animals as neighbors, loving them as ourselves, we'd sponsor and enforce laws for animal welfare, insuring that the love and care with which we treat our companion animals is extended to all animals everywhere. Loving our neighbors, helping the poor, being like Jesus. For Francis and for all of us, it comes together in how we treat animals."

Our hats are off to Reverend Julie Fisher for addressing the often-overlooked and often misunderstood topic of animal abuse in all it's forms in religion today.

We truly thank her and the kind and welcoming folks at Christ Episcopal Church for inviting Happy Trails to participate in the beautiful Blessing Of the Animals ceremony — we were honored to have been a part of this very special blessing and to have been a part of helping to spread the word about all the animal abuses that affect the world in which we live.