For Dancer and all our beloved animal companions

With the passing of Dancer from the lives of Barbara, Corinna, Jeff, Madeline and Rose there was an outpouring by Geranium Farmers of condolences and prayers they knew of or wrote.

I'll post those prayers here now for those of you who have not seen them. Below these three contributions will be a few more resources for pet meditations, prayers and liturgies that I've found in recent months. Thank you, James, Susan and Lee for your wonderful contributions and support of The Geranium Farm!

From James Flager:

"God our Creator,you have made all things good.In love look now on us and on our petsand on all the creatures you have made. As you once sent your angel Raphaelto guide your servant Tobias and his faithful dog,send your angel to watch over our pets. Keep them in health and safety,secure in our care and guardianship to be our comfort and joy. Remember all those who have no home, especially those neglected and abused. Bestow on them a special blessing, and give them comfort and release from evil. And when their days in this life are complete, take them to yourself, where they, with all creation, wait in hope for the fulfillment of your kingdom: that blessed day, when the lamb and the wolf, and the young child and the adder, will joyfully play, side by side. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."



From the Rev. Susan Church (forwarding a prayer sent to her on the death of a beloved pet):

O God, my Master
should I gain the grace
To see you face to face
when life is ended,
Grant that a little dog,
who once pretended
That I was God,
may see me face to face.
Amen.


...and from "Granny" Lee Wilson - a poem she wrote for the interment on May 8,2002:

REQUIEM For Love of My Beautiful Tortoise Shell Grancat, Summer.
Summer died before the summer came again.
The cancerous shadow on the x-ray
Took the decision out of their hands.
She melted away with a tiny jab from the caring Vet,
Her head, as always, buried in the crook of Shannon's arm,
Stroked onto the Elysian Fields by Janey's loving hands.
A last word, she was a Talking Cat, one final feline gesture
As she piddled once again on her Beloved Master's lap
To mark her boundary of so montrous an event!
They buried her across the creek in the woods she loved to hunt
When she escaped the house. (There is an Indian Mound of rock to mark her place.)
The only one who did not mourn her death
Was the long suffering and tattered Resident Mouse.
__________________________________
Books:
All God's Creatures: the Blessing of Animal Companions by Debra K. Farrington, Paraclete Press;
Animal Blessings: Prayers and Poems Celebration Our Pets by June Cotner, Harper SanFrancisco;
Blessing of the Animals: A Guide to Prayers & Ceremonies Celebrating Pets & Other Creatures
by Diana L. Guerrero, Sterling Publishing Company;
Four Paws from Heaven: Devotions for Dog Lovers by Wells, Young & Fleishauer, Harvest House Publishers

...and... MOLC postings of April 5 and 19, 2005