This morning, the Dumbarton United Methodist Church hosted the Blessing of the Animals service. Several Georgetown neighbors and members of the church congregated and brought with them their furry loved ones.  "So full of God is every creature," Reverend Mary Kay Totty said, quoting a reading from Meister Eckhart. She thanked God and blessed each pet, many of whom were rescued from shelters.

Kathy Ryan heard about the service on our very own Georgetown Patch site, and brought along Bingo, a dog she saved from Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, and Martha Dickey rescued her dog Mocha from a shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan. A member of the church who wishes to remain anonymous works in Kabul, and after witnessing the horrible treatment of animals there, she founded Afghan Stray Animal League, an organization which raises money to fund their shelter Tigger House and fly animals from Afghanistan to families wanting to adopt. She currently has a dog that has lived at the shelter for two years and is looking for a loving home. If you are interested in donating or saving Afghan animals, please visit: www.afghanstrayanimals.org.

If you would like your pet blessed, two other churches are offering a blessing of the animals service tomorrow, October 3rd:

Christ Church Georgetown - 3116 O St NW - 4:00pm

St. John's Episcopal Church Georgetown Parish -  3240 O St NW - 2:00pm