Chickens in purses and birds on the shoulder are some of the ways Richmondites can get their beloved pets blessed this Sunday.
St. Alban's Anglican Church on St. Alban's Road near Granville Avenue is holding an animal blessing service on Oct. 1 at 12 p.m.
Community members are invited to bring their pets, photos of their pets or stuffed toys to the service.
"I can speak for myself as a longtime pet owner, it's really important to be able to say thank you for the gift of these precious animals in our lives," said Vicar Elizabeth Ruder-Cadiz, who will be bringing her dog Emma.
"It's my favourite service of the whole year."
St. Alban's is a pet-friendly church and has held animal blessings before, but it was not a regular event. Ruder-Cadiz intends to make it a permanent annual fixture.
She told the Richmond News that she has held the service at every place she has been to so far.
Although Ruder-Cadiz has blessed chickens, cockatoos and rodents, as well as many dogs and cats in the past, no snake has attended her services yet.
"But I'm sure it's coming," she said.
For community members attending the service on Sunday, all they need to do is make sure their pets are comfortable.
"However the pets come, we're asking people to make sure that their pets feel safe," said Ruder-Cadiz.
"We've had birds that sit on someone's shoulder... and then the chicken that was in somebody's purse. But they felt safe, so they were fine."
