Bringing pets into mass

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StarMapp said:
The priest was right, good for him. This “dogs and cats are people” phenomena is trying to work it’s way into the mass. (Please, please bring back traditional. 😟 )
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I don’t think that will help. I think the attitude has infiltrated everywhere. I recently saw a little dog during Mass at an FSSP parish.
 
0Scarlett_nidiyilii said:
One of our parish families trains guide dogs and at one point in their training teach them how to behave at Mass.

They start them at daily Mass, then bring them to Sunday mass.

The puppies behave better than some of the kiddos.

That being said, many years ago I read a reference to in the medieval days, or maybe renaissance, and there would be animals in church. The problem was that people didn’t clean up after their animals and there would be a smell.
I can’t remember where I read this, and it was in only that one book.
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I have also read that people used to bring animals into the church. Not pets so much, but horses and donkeys and chickens and such.
 
Why don’t we let the priest make the decision for his parish? No matter what you tell us, we on the Internet don’t have the most information like the priest may. Perhaps there is something confidential that only he knows?

I would leave it up to him and only go to the Bishop alone if you felt there was a true issue. We don’t go to your parish and we don’t know those things that might be confidential for good reason,.
 
Yes, … it’s called diversity and it’s spawn novelty.
 
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Hi, I’m posting a lot here today- wow!
But anyways, I never found a forum that I could relate so much before and found so much peace.
I have a disability and I may get a service dog in the future. Please allow me to explain what a service dog is. I am not diagnosed of any condition yet, but I have failing organs, seizures, muscle weakness, breathing problems, trouble swallowing, etc. The doctors say that I may have a genetic mutation in my mitochondria.
So, the service dogs help the owners in a huge part. They help the owners and sometimes save the owners’ lives. People like me have seizures, sometimes 100 times a day. So these dogs can alert us beforehand, and this allows us to go to the hospital in time and be able to be safe.
For people with muscle weakness, physical service dogs pull wheelchairs, pull doors, open doors, push buttons, pick up items (because of loss of strength), etc.
For people with mental illness, mental illness service dogs alerts owners of panic attacks because they can be serious and may lead them to suffocation.
So service dog can be helpful. But they are expensive- and that’s why people don’t get them… and my friends who are disabled like myself have service dogs, but are afraid (one of them are Catholic) because people are judging her and telling her dog is not allowed although the dog has rights to get into building.
These dogs have rights to get into a building but I actually haven’t considered going to mass with the dogs!
What do you guys think? Thank you for bringing this idea because I would be ending up thinking about this at some point.
 
I think if you have an actual health condition that would be helped by your bringing your service dog to Mass, you should speak to the pastor about it so he knows why you’re bringing the dog, and he may have some suggestions, such as he might want you to sit in a certain section so that people who have allergies can sit away from you, or so that the dog doesn’t impede people going up and down the aisle.

Most pastors I know would understand this is a health issue and be very understanding, especially since in my areas there are service dog laws.
If the pastor is not understanding then you know to try another church or don’t bring the dog.
 
I think that sounds fair to me. I hear that some Catholics with service dogs leave the dogs behind in the aisle with a friend who already received communion and receive it by themselves. Communication is key, definitely.

Service dogs are trained to keep quiet in all cases, so the dog won’t like eat the bread (lol) or anything like that. It is called obedience training that they have to go through- and that is why service dogs are so expensive.

When I get my diagnosis figured out (I don’t have my genetic testing results in yet) and get a service dog, I will talk to my pastor and see what I can do with this. Thank you for your help. Or I will bring my mom instead- she’ll hold me instead of a dog supporting me or alerting me.

I hope like… I didn’t overload your feed with service dog info. I know this information too well because I got sick too much. Pax Christi and take care!
 
Before you get your service dog, ask a lot of hard questions about who is training it and what it is actually guaranteed to be able to do.

For example, if it is claimed it can alert to seizures , how long before? And how do the trainers justify that. A trip to hospital can take quite some time.

Same for a panic attack.

Also do a lot of research on the organisation who is claiming to train the dog. And their credentials. Are their training skills from a military or police background. Or border / airport customs etc
 
I know that it is not permitted in my church. I have heard of Catholic churches that permit pets to be brought in, but unless it’s explicitly said that it’s allowed, I don’t see why anyone would feel entitled to bring them. Time in Mass is supposed to be time devoted to God, and if her pet is going to be distracting to herself and others, it makes sense for a priest to ask her not to bring it.
 
I think this is a recent phenomenon. I recently was leaving Mass and saw a woman walking a Labradoddle (not sure how to spell this) out of the crying room. Everyone seemed startled to see such a large dog come bounding into the narthex of the church. I don’t know what is up with this.
 
This is a Pandora’s Box that the Church needs to be careful about opening. IMHO, pets do NOT belong at Mass. I love dogs and cats - this just isn’t the proper place for them.

Some people are allergic to animals, but there are other people who are simply terrified of dogs.

Frankly, at Mass, we have Jesus. If that won’t calm you down…

No offense meant to pet owners. 🙂
 
In USA, state and local laws regarding service animals can apply to churches as well. Parishes have enough legal problems on their hands currently with the scandals and settlements, without getting sued for noncompliance with a law.

Even if not sued, the pastor would probably rather NOT see his church featured in the local newspaper or on the community blog as the subject of a big story on how Joe Veteran with PTSD, or teenage Susie Jones with her seizure disorder, were told by Father Smith not to bring their service dog to Mass. You can bet there would be 5 Protestant church ministers in the comments section saying, "We welcome service dogs! We welcome everybody! Come to our church next Sunday, we’re nice, unlike the mean ol’ Catholics. "
 
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Hello,
I understand your viewpoint- but I would like to share a bit of my story with you.
I have a disability (as mentioned above) and I risk my life to go to Mass. And sometimes, I can’t go to Mass because I am too ill. If I go to Mass, I would have a massive seizure and my heart could stop. My organs may rupture (I also have a rare disease) due to skin fragility. So I risk my life… but I love the Lord and I can’t live without Him and I risked my life, although I may die going to Mass. I went to Mass, and as I am quite traditional, I wore the veil with my mother and as soon as I arrived home, I collapsed and went into a seizure and woke up the next morning.

But having a dog could help in all of these situations- so that, he/she could warn me in dangerous situations, and they could do therapeutic pressing and other tasks quietly (they’re trained to do so). I agree that I don’t want my dog to bother the Mass, eat the Eucharist, bark, or do any of the following. That is why the service dog must be trained, approved by the government (passing a test by the government), permitted by the government, and I must be trained with the dog so that I am equipped to handle the dog. Because, if I don’t handle the dog, it is my fault that the Mass didn’t go well and I definitely need to go into confession for this matter (and apologize to the whole church as well).

If the priest asks me not to bring the pet, that is okay; that must be of a reasonable matter, and I will respect it. But since my disability is grave, people who are seriously disabled like myself must have second measures when going to Mass. I used to bring wheelchairs to help me- something like this could help others, too. Medical devices, monitors, and medicines may help.

Mass is so precious to me. I love the Mass. Although the chance of getting the dog is slim, I am going to serve the Lord with all of my soul, all of my mind, and all of my heart.
Blessings friends!
 
Honestly, from what I have seen of service dogs, they are better behaved and less disruptive than the average small child. They certainly don’t go running up and down the aisles and they rarely make a noise. The only issue I can see with them is either allergies or aisle-blocking, and the vast majority of Catholic churches I attend are big enough that someone wishing to avoid the dog could sit far away from it.
 
I am so glad I have all of you here to discuss this with you all.
Yes- allergies is a big problem- definitely. And they can block the isle.
I may bring a medical assistant when I go to Mass instead of a service dog. I don’t have one yet.
I am hoping that I am not overloading you with medical info…welp
 
@pulchraesamicamea Thank you for sharing your story. Your faith is inspiring. 🙂 I agree that service dogs should be allowed in Mass for people who need them. I was thinking that it would not be good to bring pets in any other circumstance, such as not wanting to leave them at home.
 
I think it is partly a change in attitudes to the way people behave with their animals. People seem to take them to all sorts of inappropriate places these days. I agree church is most certainly not the place for dogs or any other animal unless it is a trained assistance animal.

People complain about children at Mass. What are they going to do when dogs start barking or howling at Mass? And, it’s not only Mass. No animal, save for assistance ones, should be brought into a church even outside the times of services.
 
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Uh no comment about the pet thing but anyone arriving before the Offertory is fine to receive communion.
 
Actually, there’s no rule about how early in the Mass you have to be there to receive Communion, especially if it is your first Communion of the day.

If it’s a Sunday and the question is “by coming late, did I fail to fulfill my Sunday obligation and thus end up in a state of mortal sin prior to Communion time so I can’t receive”, the answer is definitely “no” if there are still Masses scheduled later that you could attend to make your Sunday obligation.

If you are trying to go to Communion for a second time in one day, you may only receive at a Mass at which you assist, which raises a question as to whether you really “assisted” at the Mass if you came in quite late. Even then there is no bright-line rule and it depends very much on why you were late.
 
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