They came, they barked and they were blessed surrounded by people drinking wine.
After a two-year hiatus blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards held its Animal Blessing Sunday afternoon just outside Santa Rosa.
Dogs are welcome year-round, but the Sunday Blessing is a particularly popular event at the winery named after the patron saint of animals and the environment. And with the region still recovering from the pandemic and a series of wildfires, attendees said the blessings are now greater than ever.
“If they have any issues, it will help them throughout the year,” Santa Rosa resident Judy Mac said as she and her husband, David, stood next to their dogs Guiseppe and Puppa. .
Dogs were overwhelmingly the most common blessed animal on Sunday, but other pets included horses, a cat, a hamster and birds. One participant even brought a stuffed bunny and a photo of her bunny, who couldn’t travel.
The winery has been hosting pet blessings for about 20 years. Sundays were performed by Reverend Ron Serban and Deacon John Storm of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Santa Rosa. Storm guessed the most unusual pet was a tegu lizard.
“So far,” he warned, less than an hour after the event began.
According to organizers, Sunday’s crowd of blessing seekers was just as large as it has ever been, who speculated it was because of a combination of returning pet owners, eager to have their pet blessed after the two-year break, as well as new visitors who have adopted pets during the pandemic.
All of the pets did well for the most part, and St. Francis President and CEO Rick Bonitati could only smile at the festivities ahead of him.
“Not only our guests, but our four-legged friends are having fun,” he said.
One two-legged animal was Pablo, a talking parrot who was accompanied by his owner, Frederic Lucas-Conwell of Sonoma.
Lucas-Conwell admitted he was only there because his wife wanted Pablo to be blessed, but he was quick to add that the event was fun – and Pablo got a lot of attention.
“People are drawn to the fact that he talks — especially kids,” Lucas-Conwell said.
The event also served as a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Sonoma County along with other organizations participating in the festivities. Among them was the equestrian rescue Pony Express.
The Sierra and Peanut horses, who survived the 67,484-acre Glass Fire started in September 2020, were in attendance on Sunday and both were blessed.
“You can never have too many blessings,” said Pony Express manager Linda Aldrich.
You can contact editor Colin Atagi at [email protected]. On Twitter @colin_atagi
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