Pets receive their blessing

Rocky, a 3-year-old Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix, was one a handful of pets that received their blessings on Sunday — and a bag of doggie treats.

Several dog and cat owners arrived at the Center for Spiritual Living in La Crescenta with their pets or photographs of their animals to be blessed by the Rev. Beverly Craig, the Rev. Steven Van Meter or practitioner Laney Clevenger-White.

Nora Barsuk, 61, of Glendale, brought a picture of Rocky, adopted from the Glendale Humane Society.

“[He’s] a lot of fun and rambunctious. Last year, we had a cat here, and the tie-in wasn’t good. So this year, I brought the picture for the cat’s sake,” she said.

It was her second time at the blessing, which Barsuk said is a good way to impart positive beliefs onto her and others’ pets.

“I think it’s good for their spirit and their general well-being,” she said. “I’m religious science, therefore my dog is religious science, and we believe in the power of positive thinking. We move forward with a good attitude, and I think that’s good to impart on our dog too.”

Before the blessing took place, Van Meter called everyone into a prayer circle.

“All that is is right here where we are,” he told the group. “It is every divine creature — the creepy crawlers, the spiders, the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom. Everything that is is an expression of that awesome manifesting power of the universe.”

Two cats and three dogs were blessed. Each pet received a signed certificate and a bag of treats.