It is very nice for churches to have services expressing our love of animals. What seems strange to me is the idea of churches “blessing” the animals. Animals live connected to the web of life in a way we can only imagine, it is we who need to be blessed by them. If animals could speak, I think they would say, “Thank you for wishing us well, but if you want to show us you care, we’ll trade your service of blessings for a day of the week when you don’t hunt, torture or eat us.”