The Blessing of the Animals

My father recently remarked that there is always something to do in our Canadian city. Theatre, concerts, exhibits: you name it. So on Saturday, October 4, my dad and I indeed found something to do. We attended the blessing of the animals ceremony at St. James Anglican Cathedral.October 4 is both the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi as well as World Animal Day. That these two events fall on the same date is no coincidence. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals, and he is also one of the most popular saints in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches (that's Episcopal in the United States). His role as patron saint of animals comes from his close relationship to these creatures during his lifetime. According to one legend, he befriended a wolf and convinced him to stop terrorizing a nearby town, after which the wolf lived on food given to him by the town's inhabitants. In paintings St. Francis is often depicted with birds on each arm.

On the morning of October 4 my dad and I took the subway to St. James Cathedral. (We didn't bring our cats because they would have surely jumped out of our arms and don't like being put in carriers.) By the time we arrived, chairs had been set up on the lawn just outside the church. The place was crowded with pets and their people. The majority of animals there were dogs, from a huge St. Bernard to a tiny Yorkshire terrier and everything in between. My father and I were seated beside a full-grown but extremely frisky (and cute) Dalmatian. A few people had brought cats, most of whom were in carriers and a few on leashes or harnesses. However, one man was carrying a very calm cat in his arms - something I envied because my own cats would never have sat still in my arms for an hour in public! In addition, two police officers had brought their horses to be blessed.

The service was conducted by two priests and the archbishop. It started with a short prayer and a reading from the Book of Genesis in the Bible which described how God created the world and all its creatures. Next the archbishop listed the ways in which animals help us in our daily lives, such as providing us with companionship, guiding the visually impaired, assisting the police, and so on. I remember thinking of how my cats do me a great favour by keeping the birds - and the latter's droppings! - off my balcony.

Then the actual blessing of the animals began. The archbishop first went over to the two police officers, said a short prayer over each of their horses, and sprinkled the animals with some holy water that he had blessed earlier. Afterwards the congregants lined up to have their pets blessed. As was done with the horses, the priest or archbishop recited a prayer and sprinkled water on the animal.

On the whole the process was quiet. A few frisky dogs insisted on sniffing each other out until they had satisfied their curiosity, but there was very little barking and definitely no fighting. And no cats created havoc by attempting to escape from their leashes or owners' arms.

When the ceremony ended, my father and I went to look at the interior of the church. Someone else had the same idea - a woman leading a beautiful ginger cat on a leash. I stopped to pet the cat and complimented the woman on how well-behaved it was - if only my cats were so cool, calm and collected!

One of my cats, Mama, has gained weight and has asthma, so I'm thinking of buying a leash and bringing her outside so she gets some exercise. In that way she can lose weight and her asthma symptoms may abate somewhat. So perhaps by the time October 4 rolls around again, she'll become used to staying outside and can be brought to the blessing of the animals ceremony - where with some divine intervention she might be cured of her asthma for good!

Emily, 17, Canada

Elephants

Elephants are amazing animals. Their ancestors date back over 45 million years! They are the largest land mammals. Adults can weigh up to 13,333 pounds and can measure up to 30 feet. Wow! Elephants also have a lot of close relatives, such as the elephant shrew, my favourite elephant relative. Elephants have always been one of my favorite animals, and here's why they should be one of yours too.

The Two Types

There are two main types of elephants, African and Asian. African elephants are generally much bigger than Asian elephants. They are heavier and taller. The two types are quite easy to tell apart, mainly because of the ears. Asian elephants ears are smaller, and kind of squared-shaped. African elephant ears are bigger, and more triangular shapes. Some people even say that their ears look like Africa. Asian elephants are known to be a bit calmer than African elephants, sometimes even allowing themselves to be painted for parades and festivals.

Elephant Relatives

Most animals with long noses are likey to be given a name with "elephant" in it. Elephantine animals, or relations of elephants, include the elephant shrew, mannatees, and aardvarks. Elephant shrews look like mice with long noses. They use their nose to rummage through leaves when looking for bugs to eat. Mannatees live mainly in the oceans around the world. They can grow up to 15 feet and weigh up to 3,550 pounds. Aardvarks have some very interesting features. They have claws to dig in the ground, and a long tounge for lapping up insects.

Elephants in Danger

Elephants are classified as "Endangered". This means that elephants are, well, in danger of becoming extinct. The main cause of elephant deaths, and many other animals, is hunters. Elephants are so big that the only animal that really threatens them are humans. Hunters hunt elephants for their leather, which they use to make shoes, but more commonly for the ivory in their tusks. Ivory is used to make things like statues, and is worth a lot of money. Some african and asian countries have put a ban on trading ivory. Sadly, there are people called poachers who escape the law. The number one thing you can do is to try not to buy ivory. Sure, ivory is worth a lot of money, but isn't the wellbeing of elephants worth a whole lot more?


Elephant Fun Facts

Okay, now to the fun part. What could be more fun than Fun Facts? Here are 7 of my personal favourites.

1. Elephants drink about 650 glasses worth of water each day!
2. African elephants are actually more related to mammoths than Asian elephants!
3. Most of the elephants living in Sri. Lanka, a small country just below India on a map have no tusks!
4.When elephants charge, they fan out their ears and roll their trunk to one side to keep it out of the way!
5.Older elephants rarely lie down, because if they do, it is hard to stand back up!

Of course, I could not tell you everything there is to know about elephants in a short article. To learn more about these amazing animals on your own, try these resources.

Websites:
www.elephantcountryweb.com/Elliefacts.html
(great for those super neat fun facts and the basics)
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/elephantmen/
(basics and, also has info on the elephant gods)

Books:
There is only one book I use for all my elephant related projects.

EyeWittness Elephants

This is awesome! It has everything you need to know in one place. Definetly worth looking up in your local library!

Evelina L., age 12, Canada

Animals in Distress!

Have you ever wondered why you see so many animals on the side of the road? This is mostly because people who don't care about animals just drop them off on the side road and hope they find a good home. I don't know about you but to me that is not what animals are for. We lose more animals by dropping them off on the side of the road than by putting them to sleep or them dying of hunger. Don't think that just because you are a kid that you can't do anything. When you see an animals on the side of the road memorize the street name. When you get home or the place you are going, call the pound or the vet and tell them the street or neighborhood you saw the animal in. Just by memorizing the street and calling a simple number you probably saved that animal from being run over or straving. REMEMBER: Never go up to an animal you don't know. It could have a disease so you better let a professional do it.

Katelyn 11 USA

Are you thinking of getting a new pet? Have you already decided to get your new family member at the the pet shop? Well before youbuy from the pet shop you should check out your local animal shelter.
Animal shelters are great places to look for your new pet! They can have any pets from dogs to parakeets. But still you may say "why take a risk that I may find something wrong with my new pet?" Well I'll make you a little list.

1- by giving an animal a home you could save it the life of a shelter
2- if you're buying a dog or a cat you'll have a bit more variety.
3- the animals could already be trained.
4- They're cheaper at the shelter.
5- VERY IMPORTANT! many animals every year get destroyed if no one
adopts them
" How do I know the shelter has the animal I want?"
easy go to petfinder.com that site will tell you what animals are in
what shelters.

Note: there is still a small risk that an animal could be sick, but many shelters will pay the vet bill if you report the sickness within two weeks of adoption.

Zoe age 10 USA