PROVINCETOWN — Townspeople and visitors put their love of pets on parade with extra verve during Pet Appreciation Weekend this year. While animal magnetism was on display at events like the tea dance, one gathering on Saturday appealed to pethood’s spiritual side: a crowd of mostly canines waited eagerly, with people in tow, for blessings given by the Rev. William Rich of the Church of St. Mary of the Harbor.
The Rev. William Rich began as interim pastor at St. Mary on April 1. Before that, he was a vicar at Trinity Church in Boston, where he conducted the Blessing of the Pets several times. “It could get very tense in Copley Square because there were so many animals and people, and the animals would sometimes get spooked,” said Rich. “It’s very laid back here by comparison.” (Photo by Marcia Geier)
Kemper Thompson and Rick Bankhead live in Provincetown and Newton. Their dogs, Benny and Cooper, were here for the weekend, dressed up as matching Paddington Bears. “Cooper looked like a little bear anyway, so Paddington seemed like the right outfit for him,” said Thompson. “We came last year, and we didn’t have outfits, and we felt like we missed out on the fun. We were prepared this year.” (Photo by Sophie Mann-Shafir)
The weekend events benefitted the volunteer-staffed Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter (CASAS), which cares for homeless dogs and cats until they are adopted into Outer Cape households. CASAS volunteer and board chair Sherry Brec of Provincetown was the top cat in the church yard on Saturday. (Photo by Marcia Geier)
Darby Baumann took the ferry to town for the parade with Bill and Sarah Baumann. “Darby loves the ferry,” Bill said, “although the first time we took it, I had to carry her onto the boat.” Darby was a rescue and had never been near the water before. Darby was wearing a pumpkin coat. “It’s kind of hard to find a costume for a Great Dane,” said Sarah. (Photo by Sophie Mann-Shafir)
Figgie, a Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen, and Purla and Prudence, Spinone Italianos, were here with humans Bruce Carpenter and Donna Lacroix of Bolton. “We’re especially glad to be here,” said Lacroix. “They found a tumor in Prudence a year ago, and we were told she had six to eight months to live. And here she is, a year later.” Prudence rests a lot now, but “she was at Westminster before her diagnosis.” Before the parade, Lacroix said, there would be a costume change: “They’ll all be Cookie Monsters.” (Photo by Marcia Geier)
Russ Madray and Phil Way moved to Provincetown in December and have had the Blessing of the Animals on their calendar for months. “We’ve been looking forward to it all year,” said Madray, adding that afterwards they would be taking Sydney, their Vizsla, to her first tea dance at the Boatslip. Her sweater read “I Love My 2 Dads.” (Photo by Sophie Mann-Shafir)
