Every year, around the October 4th feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, a local Anglican Church conducts a blessing-of-the-animals ceremony. For many years, they have conducted this event on the sprawling premises of Yves’s restaurant, in West Ajijic. Originally, the church used to conduct this event on their own property, but the number of participants promptly outgrew their capacity, primarily due to all the animals Yves himself used to bring.
He seldom has fewer than four rescued dogs and, of course, the famous white donkeys. Over the years, several of the donkeys have passed away, but the matriarch, Vino Blanco, is still kicking. Lately, Yves acquired a miniature white mule, a brown burro and a 35-year-old horse to keep Vino Blanco company. People often say Yves loves anything with four legs. But lately, he had to expand that statement to include anything with three legs because of the amputee pit bull he rescued. Most of Yves’s animals are being treated for serious health afflictions, ranging from arthritis and diabetes, to total blindness. Half the dogs undergo hydrotherapy sessions in the restaurant’s gigantic swimming pool. If St. Francis was God’s gift to animals, Yves is God’s gift to veterinarians.
I remember the first time my wife and I stumbled upon this religious ceremony. We had gone to Yves’s restaurant for lunch, not realizing it was the feast day of St. Francis. Somewhere between the appetizers and the main course, dozens of people began arriving with their pets in tow. We decided to stay and observe the festivities.
In addition to Yves’s herd of burros, there were at least 35 dogs, a couple of parrots, and a single terrified cat. You can imagine how much the cat was enjoying this gathering. It was as if he had been plunked in the middle of a crowded dog park. To tell the truth, dogs aside, I could see nothing about this event that would appeal to a cat. I can guarantee you that being sprinkled with water, holy or otherwise, has never been included on any of that cat’s nine bucket lists.
As if the dogs weren’t intimidating enough, a local wildlife rescue organization brought along an eight-foot boa constrictor. Considering their biblical reputation, I wouldn’t have thought a serpent would be considered eligible for this benediction. But, since there was no apple tree in the restaurant garden, and nobody named Eve on the premises, it was hard to imagine how this snake could get into too much trouble.
This reminded me of a news article I read years ago about a couple in New York whose cat was suffering from kidney stones. The veterinarian told them these are often a symptom of the cat being under extreme stress. When they returned to their apartment, they investigated and found that, at night, an escaped boa constrictor was slithering out of a hole in their kitchen wall and scaring the crap out of their cat. When the fire department eventually captured the creature, they asked the other tenants if anybody in the building had lost a boa constrictor. One guy reluctantly admitted he had. But when they showed him the captured snake, he said that wasn’t the one he’d lost. Does anybody feel a kidney stone coming on?
The area where we were sitting was going to be the end of the line for all the blessings. At the next table, the people had a miniature poodle on one of those fishing-reel leashes that provides very little control over the dog. The owner was deep in conversation and not paying attention to her dog’s meanderings. For some reason, this pooch became enthralled with my wife’s recently purchased full-length Indian skirt. Who knows why? Perhaps it still bore the scent of chicken curry, or maybe a sacred cow. Whatever the reason, we had to shoo him away several times.
When the priest finally arrived at our table, we asked him to give us a sprinkle of holy water so we could feel in solidarity with the animals. When the priest obliged, the poodle apparently interpreted this sprinkle as a rival trying to stake a claim on my wife’s skirt. So he quickly came over and lifted his leg. By the time the owner realized what her mutt was up to, he had left a wet spot on the hem of my wife’s skirt.
The owner finally got her dog reeled in and was scolding him when my wife smiled and said not to be too rough on him. After all, she said, this was a special day and a special event specifically for the animals. It wasn’t their fault that my wife and I had crashed their party. We couldn’t expect a dog and 35 of his rambunctious playmates to be on their best behavior all afternoon. Let’s face it; things could have been a lot worse. That damned boa constrictor could have escaped, triggering an epidemic of kidney stones.
Aside from that single incident of misdirected poodle piddle, it was an enjoyable afternoon. I think my wife summed it up best. She said that between the priest and the poodle, she felt twice blessed. I don’t think St. Francis could have said it any better.
- ‘Tis The Season - November 30, 2024
- Cat Tale - October 29, 2024
- Adventure Travel - September 28, 2024
