I have to be honest. I'm an animal lover. So this will be a biased blog. It has to with the situation in Toronto where Donald Keith took his dog Trapper to St. Peter's Angilican church. The 2 of them were new to the area and the church is pet friendly so it was win win for man and beast.
Donald went up to recieve communion and Trapper tagged along. Donald took the wafer which represents the body of Christ. The priest looked at Trapper and offered him a wafer. Trapper figured he'd try anything once. Besides if it was good for Donald it had to be good for him. A nice gesture to welcome the 2 of them to their new community. No problems....except one complaint. A member of the flock thought "this is a crock" and got their knickers in a twist. They complained and from now on no more canine communion. It's not allowed. Trapper is canine non grata.
This is what makes me crazy about religion. Some over zealous member of the congretation thought this went against the rules of the church. Donald is in. Trapper stays put in his puppy pew. Wonder what St. Francis would think about this. He talked to the animals long before Dr. Doolittle. He welcomed animals into his life. Understood their nature and their beauty. I'm not a religious person but I do have 2 St. Francis statues outside. I know they're just made out of plaster and stone but I like to think Francis is keeping an eye on my pets.
Some us, myself included, look at their pets as family members. I spend more time with my cats than any humans in my life. I have 2 dogs. One of them, Warren, sings to me. It's actually more like a howl. He does it when he gets excited. Not sure what he's communicating but he's giving me the doggie dope on something.
Dogs were the first animal to be domesticated. Dogs and humans bonded almost immediately. They work for us. They protect us. They keep us warm. They love us uncoditonally. They always have time for us. They walk with us and keep us company. They wake us up at 2:30 in the morning because they have to go outside for a pee (okay there's always a downside). They play with us. They practice the golden rule..."do unto other as you would have them do unto you". So the next time your pooch licks you on the lips lick him back.
The DNA doesn't say so but I believe dogs are closer to humans than any other animal. They just seem to understand us. How can letting a dog take communion be a bad thing? It's a ritual, a gesture.
I have no problem with people praying to what ever god they believe in. Good for the mind. Good for the soul. Not so good early on a Saturday when they knock on your door asking if you'd like to be saved. That's where warbbling Warren comes in hand. He belts out a bowser ballad and the missionaries go missing. Religion has give the world a lot of good. But in the name of God the world has also been given war, crusades, bigotry, inquisitions and intolerance. I don't recall dogs doing any of that.
I like to include my pets in as many things as I can. I wont take them fine dining but I will roll down the window when we pull into a drive thru. Giving them the keys to car would be wrong. Giving them the keys to the Kingdom? Not such a bad idea.
We're all rolling the dice on this. We can't prove there's a God. We can't prove there's a heaven. Not empiraclly anyway. If I'm going to heaven I want Warren there with me. If I'm going to purgatory, he'll wait. Kind of a communion reunion. If I'm not going to either I'll throw frisbie. He'll go after it and I'll go to hell.
The priest letting Trapper take communion hurt no one. It probably did all but one person a lot of good. Going to church is supposed to get you closer to God. Spell dog backwards and those magnificent mutts are a lot closer to God than a lot of people I've met.
Note: For a better idea of what I'm talking about go to Youtube and write in "Just A Dog?" in searcj. (provided by my f/b friend and animal lover Sandy Hart).
Puppy-ed out on the video post, eh Hodgie?
I couldn't agree more with this blog on many levels. In fact, I was having almost this same discussion with a friend last evening over a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon (about religion & what I've observed from the most devout worshippers & their hypocrisy).
I do hope that your readers get to view the video in YouTube.
Are you aware that ancient Egyptians regarded cats as Gods? They (cats) have never forgotten this! ;-)
Thanks Sandy. I knew about the Egyptians. Historians think that once cats were domesticated they were used to keep rats and mice out of their grain silos. Because drought and famine were always possible the cats allowed the grain to kept safe for much longer periods. From there the reverence for cats grew. They were sacred to life.
Rick,
Cats and dogs give me so much more enjoyment than any religion. God bless their souls. (Is that an inappropriately...........or whatever?}
Well said rick!
That's how the Maine Coon cat breed was discovered. Apparently they came across the ocean on fishing boats, catching mice & rats which carried the Plague. Once the boats docked in the State of Maine, many of the cats jumped ship & settled on farms to continue keeping the rodent population down.
They grew quite large & developed thick, shaggy coats - especially on their underside & also grew long toe tufts & bushy tails to protect them against the elements.
Because they are large & mostly brown tabby patterns, there was a lot of folklore about them resulting from cross-breeding these cats with raccoons (which is genetically impossible) but they were soon dubbed 'Maine Coon' cats.
They have been selectively bred by breeders for larger size, lynx tufts on their ears & cheeks, & for their gentle personalities. My oldest cat, Jake is believed to be one of those 'foundation' Maine Coons & Jasper is very similar. I once showed Jake in the Household Pet class at a cat show when he was younger & not only cleaned up on ribbons & rosettes, but also had trails of people asking me if I was going to breed him as they were so impressed. This almost got us tossed out of the show because registered Maine Coon breeders were exhibiting their 'champion' cats & advertising upcoming litters for sale. Everyone was so disappointed when I explained that Jake had been neutered when he was 6 months old. Now that he's getting on in his years, & is the best cat I've ever had, sometimes I wish I had one of his offspring as I know I'll never replace him after he's gone. This cat 'gets' everything & I swear I can communicate with him just through my thoughts. Too bad he can't speak.
Ridiculous. No harm or disrespect was intended, and I expect that the priest conscious of what s/he was doing. Have a look at Afghanistan and I think I can live with ol' Trapper getting his Sacred Cookie.