Blessing animal remains?

[lotus1922]

This afternoon I found the skeletal remains of what appears to be a small dog on a nearby vacant property. It is a nearly complete skeleton, and seems to indicate that the animal was shot in the head based on the fractured skull.

I am a great lover of animals and God’s creation in general in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, and it pains me to think that this poor animal might have died in such a horrific and possibly painful way. I collected the bones in a small box and am wondering if it would be possible or even appropriate to have them blessed? And if so, how would I propose this to a priest— I would feel very strange asking Father to bless a box of animal bones

Blessings, and Thank you in advance!

 

[JamalChristophr]

In answering your question, I think it is necessary to start by defining what a blessing is. I got this from a Catholic Answers staff Q and A…

Briefly, a blessing on an object is a prayer that praises God for the act of creating this object and implores that the object be used for his greater glory. The Catechism puts it this way:

Among sacramentals, blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father “with every spiritual blessing.” This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ. (CCC 1671)

What happens to an object when it is blessed?

Briefly, a blessing on an object is a prayer that praises God for the act of creating this object and implores that the object be used for his greater glory. Th...

www.catholic.com

That is only a partial definition, I think. It seems it might also serve as a special divine protection in some sense but that would be for a living entity.

I can’t really see any point or logic in blessing the remains of an animal. I don’t think we even bless the remains of a person, but I’m not certain on that point.

 

[FrDavid96]

hmmmmm…

We certainly do bless living animals. No doubt about it.

I would be very hesitant to bless animal remains. At the risk of sounding too blunt, my question would be “to what purpose?”

We bless human remains as a reminder of baptism, a reminder of hope in the Resurrection, and because humans are created in the Image and Likeness of God. None of that applies to animals.

If it were me, I would offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the dog. I would work-in some words of hope that the dog died quickly and painlessly (which is truly possible).

I really do not think that I would bless the bones. Again, I don’t want to sound blunt or insensitive, but I don’t see a legitimate reason to do so.

I would certainly consider blessing a grave-site if you’re going to bury the bones, but would be very very careful to avoid implying salvation or resurrection of the dog. If given some time, I might be able to compose something appropriate. And that’s important: if NOT given some time, but just asked to do it on-the-spot, it would be very awkward thing to do.

In the meantime take some comfort here: just because it seems like the dog might have been shot in the head does not necessarily mean that it was abused or neglected. It might have been well cared-for, but simply became too sick and a quick, painless death might have spared the dog needless suffering.

 

[lotus1922]

Thank you both for the informative answers. Of course I do not mean to suggest resurrection or salvation of animals since animals do not have immortal souls as humans do. I do feel like it would be nice to give them a proper rest, recognizing it as one of God’s creatures, hoping that it had a good life and brought joy to someone, and allowing its earthly remains to return to its Creator in a more … positive(?) manner than in an abandoned, dirty, trash-filled lot.

Mainly my concern, silly or crazy sounding as it may be, is that bones of previously living creatures (especially, I think, mammals with their relative anatomical similarity to humans) can sometimes have rather dark/ morbid/ even satanic connotations. I am thinking of sacrifices and other rituals and how objects can be “consecrated” to evil entities by practitioners of witchcraft, santeria, etc, for example. I didn’t think of it at the time, but not knowing the provenance, so to speak, of how these remains came to be, could I have possibly opened myself up to some kind of demonic influence? Should I be blessed now?

 

[FrDavid96]

Mainly my concern, silly or crazy sounding as it may be, is that bones of previously living creatures (especially, I think, mammals with their relative anatomical similarity to humans) can sometimes have rather dark/ morbid/ even satanic connotations. I am thinking of sacrifices and other rituals and how objects can be “consecrated” to evil entities by practitioners of witchcraft, santeria, etc, for example. I didn’t think of it at the time, but not knowing the provenance, so to speak, of how these remains came to be, could I have possibly opened myself up to some kind of demonic influence? Should I be blessed now?

Probably not.

First, the most likely explanation is usually what actually happened. Someone shot the dog. Maybe it was sick, maybe it was bothering someone, maybe someone just didn’t know what else to do with it but couldn’t be bothered to take it to a shelter; or maybe the person was just being mean.

Secondly; there are a lot of reasons not to think that this was some kind of occult ritual. How can I say that? Found on a vacant property. They don’t just leave animal remains around in the open–unless on some kind of display intended to be seen, like a curse or a threat. They conduct their rituals in secret, secluded spots—a vacant lot is too open. Shot in the head (sorry to be blunt) is not a typical ritual killing. And even if the killing itself wasn’t ritual, but they wanted bones or other parts, then you’d notice that those parts were missing (like a leg). Typically, they like to use large dogs, not small ones, especially large dogs with long legs. If you found something else, you haven’t mentioned it. That leads me to think that there was nothing else–like beads, candle stubs, or other ritual items.

I think the best thing you can do is just take the bones to some place where you can bury them, like in the woods or a wooded park (don’t break any laws!) and just bury them there and let them return to nature.

 

[anikins]

If it brings you any comfort, know that a bullet to the head probably resulted in instant death without pain.

 

[dconklin]

I am on staff at a large parish and was working one day in our parish hall, getting ready for an event. In walks an older couple and the lady was carrying a bundle. My first thought based on how it was wrapped up in a blanket and how she was carrying it that was a baby and these were grandparents sneaking the baby to church to be baptized. As they approached me they said they need to see a priest. When they got up to me, I saw it was a dog. They told me their dog had just died and they wanted a priest to bless it.

I tried not to visibly cringe. I asked them to follow me and brought them to to the Church office and introduced them to a priest - and got out of there. The priest later told me there was nothing he could do for the dog but he blessed them.

 

[lotus1922]

I am on staff at a large parish and was working one day in our parish hall, getting ready for an event. In walks an older couple and the lady was carrying a bundle. My first thought based on how it was wrapped up in a blanket and how she was carrying it that was a baby and these were grandparents sneaking the baby to church to be baptized. As they approached me they said they need to see a priest. When they got up to me, I saw it was a dog. They told me their dog had just died and they wanted a priest to bless it.

I tried not to visibly cringe. I asked them to follow me and brought them to to the Church office and introduced them to a priest - and got out of there. The priest later told me there was nothing he could do for the dog but he blessed them.

I volunteer at an animal shelter and also own two cats (the third passed this summer at the age of 19). I have been “known” (only to myself anyhow) to trace a cross on a sick, injured, or elderly animal a time or two and entrust them to St. Francis’ care. They have certainly taught me a lot about faith in God, hope, life and death, and so many other spiritual lessons.

One of my own cats is named Francis Benedict (you can probably guess who he’s named after), whom I believe had a miraculous healing as a kitten when everyone fully expected him to die (but that’s another story). Anyhow, one day after he had gotten well he was sitting on the bathroom counter while the faucet was on. Not a little drip, mind you, but a full flow. Well he stuck his head completely under the water and held it there for a couple seconds— so I traced the cross on his forehead since he had effectively “baptized” himself

 

[pianistclare]

That’s a sweet thought.
I think Fr David perfectly explained the likely scenario.
God bless all animal lovers…it’s my personal belief that God gives us pets and animals in general so that we can learn to care for and respect someone, and then let them go.
To nature, or to God, in the case of our loved ones.
Pax et Bonum!