She's Healed! It's a Miracle!

 On Sunday, we were sitting at Austen's baseball game. It was such a beautiful afternoon. A bit cool but not too hot so we decided to bring Sadie since with social distancing we all spread out and can view his game from the outfield. 

The field happens to back up to our church and with the church bells going off every hour, I remember that it is the day for the Blessing of the Pets. I check my email and note that it's taking place in 30 minutes in the courtyard just west of us. The girls are game for walking over with me so at 1:30pm we make the trek over. There are many people and dogs (no cats or other creatures which I think now is a bit odd) and everyone is wearing masks. Some dogs are better behaved than others including the priest's dog Isaiah who is a pit bull. The priest has a tough time trying to read the prayer and control Isaiah. I don't think he gets along too well with others considering Austen had said they had a fire drill during religious ed one time and the priest happened to be walking his dog and instructed all the kids not to pet him. The priest finally gave up trying to read the prayer and corral his dog, handing him off to a friend. Sadie was a perfect angel. Sitting down nicely and not barking. I reminisce about how I used to sweat trying to control Sadie in small spaces with other dogs around when she was a puppy. (She really gave me a run for my money and was so crazy.) She really has turned into a great dog. My thoughts are interrupted by Hailey. She has a lot of questions about this blessing. 

Hailey with Sadie

"Will she be able to run again?" she asks. 

"Yes," I say, "it will help her."

"Will she be able to jump?" she adds 

"Maybe," I reply not wanting to lead her astray since she's really interested in this blessing and Sadie being healed. 

The priest finishes his short prayer and comes around with a small broom and a bowl of holy water. He dips the broom and flicks it in the air moving between each of us and covering each animal (and all of us too) in what feels like huge rain drops. The blessing was over and per usual I grabbed Sadie's harness to help her up. 

"Wait, mom, why did you have to help her up? Did it not work?" Hailey asks. 

"Oh, well, it's not magic," I say, "sometimes it takes a little longer." 

 "Like an hour?" she inquires. 

"Yeah, something like that," I tell her. She seems to be satisfied and believes that her dog will be healed. 

We go home later and she's thrilled that Sadie can hobble/run in the backyard and make it up our back steps without assistance (this is largely due to changing her meds the last week or so). 

See, I tell her, it's a miracle! If only, she knew how much of a miracle we need to get this dog to live longer than Addie but so far her new meds seem to be helping a lot!

Receiving the Blessing