Blessing of the Animals brings four-legged friends to St. Dominic’s

An animal can certainly be a person’s best friend and a member of the family, and the annual blessing of the animals at St. Dominic’s Church this past Saturday attracted a wide audience of people for whom that rings true.

The blessing opened up with a prayer by Father John Tino. Adults and children of all ages crowded around the front of the church, located at 2001 Bay Ridge Parkway, as Father Tino conferred a brief blessing onto the animals, which included mostly dogs with an occasional rabbit or cat in the crowd of several dozen four-legged friends.

While the animals enjoyed each other’s company, the families and pet-owners expressed great gratitude in the church for the animal blessing.

“It’s really nice that the animals get blessed and that they get to interact with each other. It’s great that the church thinks of the animals,” said Jackie N., a Bensonhurst resident who brought her dog, Watson, to this year’s blessing.

“I love this,” said Charlene Arent, a first time attendee. “This is so nice that they do this every year. The animals really are our best friends.”