Church Blesses Animals to Honor ‘God’s Creatures’

At a church that welcomes atheists as well as Christians, it was almost fitting to see beagles mingling with Akitas and poodles playing with chow chows Sunday at the annual Animal Blessing at the Sepulveda Unitarian-Universalist Society in North Hills.

A bevy of dogs and a couple of chickens were on hand at the onion-shaped building on Haskell Avenue to celebrate the existence of “all God’s creatures.”

“We’re blessing them because most people treat [their pets] like property, but they’re not,” said 12-year-old Emma Rosloff, who helped conduct the ceremony. “People don’t respect animals enough.”