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This weekend, Oct. 4 to be exact, marks the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment. If you’re a pet owner, be sure to take your dog, cat or other furry, feathery or scaly friend to church this weekend for a special blessing.

Fr. Ed Kaminski and Rahpie at last year's pet blessing at Our Lady of the Valley Parish.

See a sample list of participating parishes after the jump. Your parish not on there? Check your parish bulletin or the online bulletin of a neighboring parish (check parish map if you don’t know what parish is nearby).

Don’t have a pet? Check out the blessing at St. Elizabeth Seton to find out about adopting one or other links below for interesting reading on Catholics and their pets.

Interesting links to sniff out:

• Map to parishes
• More than faithful companions
• Will I see my dog in heaven?
• Last year’s pet blessing
• Pet stories sent to St. Anthony Messenger
• Find pet blessings nationwide and other pet/St. Francis-related reading
• Catholic Concern for Animals USA

Here are some sample parishes around the diocese offering the blessing:

• Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale — noon and 2 p.m. Oct. 24-25. Blessing in conjunction with annual St. Francis Festival.
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  A furry friend reverently embrace its blessing at last year's event at Holy Spirit Parish in Tempe.

  Holy Spirit in Tempe — Roughly 9:15 a.m. after the 8:30 a.m. Mass Oct. 3. Pets get a bandanna, St. Francis medallion, a treat and certificate. Owners get a bbq. See more than 30 photos from last year (#s 12, 24, 34, 37 are my favs). It was mostly dog-lovers — including Fr. Thomas Hallsten — but at least one owner of a cat, snake, fish and turtle showed up too.

• Our Lady of the Valley — 10 a.m. Oct. 3. Read about last year’s event.
• St. Elizabeth Seton in Sun City — 8 a.m. Oct. 3 in the west parking lot. Includes a canine demonstration by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department. Marge Wright, from the Arizona Humane Society’s “Pets on Parade” will speak and a greyhound rescue and adoption agency will be on-site with information.
• St. Rose — 9-10:30 a.m. outside the new spirituality center.
• Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral — 3 p.m. Oct. 4 in the courtyard. Music ministry to provide the interlude while father makes his way around for the individual attention many pets crave.
• St. Theresa — 1 p.m. Oct. 4 Our Lady of Guadalupe Courtyard between Feeny Hall and the convent (my guess is to better accommodate the fish in the pond).

I’ll be at one of the blessings. Wish I could take the Dad and baby gray tabby strays I’ve been feeding, but the baby is still too skittish to come near people.