Pets attending Mass

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Episcopalian

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I attended Mass at a different parish last weekend than my typical church.

This woman came in with three schitzu(sp?) dogs and took communion and everything. Two were in her bag and one was on a leash and they all came up together for communion. Quite the little “parade”! The dogs obviously didn’t receive.

Anyway, is this appropriate/licit for Mass? I only know pets to attend the blessing of the animals service, but never a legit Mass.

The dogs were adorable and very well behaved so maybe she got a dispensation from the bishop?
 
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If I’m not mistaken, you’re Episcopalian. I can’t comment on that for Episcopalians. Either way it would not be considered appropriate to bring dogs to Mass unless they were service dogs, no matter how cute or well behaved they are.
 
This would be up to the pastor in your St Average Catholic Parish. My SOP is to always assume that the pastor knows best how to shepherd his flock. If allowing Mrs Smith to bring her dogs to Mass is the best way to help Mrs Smith get to heaven, I will sit by the lady with the dogs so they don’t bother “non dog” persons.
 
It is likely that the woman is known to the pastor, and that the dogs are emotional support animals of some type, and the pastor has chosen to permit her to bring them.

It is not the norm to bring pets to Mass. However, many states have laws requiring that people be permitted to bring their support animals into public places, including private businesses that welcome patrons from the public, at least within reason (obviously if she had an emotional support horse or elephant and tried to bring it into a building, it might be a different story). The parish will try to comply with the applicable law so it doesn’t get sued.
 
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This woman could have been a traveller who didn’t want to leave her pets in the car while she attended Mass.
 
Pets shouldn’t be in Mass without good reason. “They’re well behaved and cute” isn’t a good reason.
 
Episcopalian said:
This woman came in with three schitzu(sp?) dogs and took communion and everything. Two were in her bag and one was on a leash and they all came up together for communion. Quite the little “parade”! The dogs obviously didn’t receive.
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Thank you that gave me a laugh 😁. And I do take the Blessed Sacrament very seriously
 
That is awful. I understand a true service dog, but pets is another story. This whole “emotional” service dog thing is out of control. Really, who needs three little dogs as emotional support.

I realize there are some people who do have these types of animals as emotional support animals but if it is truly that it should be considered a service animal and should be marked as such.

I have two cats I love dearly, I do my best to ensure their health and well being. However they stay home. There is no reason anyone should bring a pet into church unless it is a true service animal.
 
Sounds like a massive distraction that shouldn’t be allowed. Irreverent. Some folks may be allergic to the dogs also.

Not surprising though in this culture which calls pets “children,” people often self-diagnosing themselves to claim they need support animals of every type, etc.

Just another example of why that Pew survey showed such horrendous numbers.
 
I have no idea why it seems to be limited to dogs. Thinking of buying a pet snake for emotional support and going to Mass, but with my luck a statue of Mary would fall on it.
 
I don’t know whether pets would be ‘irreverent’ (to me that sounds like a stretch and subjective) but due to the prevalence of allergies it seems courteous to avoid having pets at indoor public places when possible.
 
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Dogs, pets, animals . . . Do. Not. Belong. In. Church. Period. . .

There is a man with a seeing eye dog who attends Mass at our parish. That’s o.k. I don’t have a problem with that.

But there aren’t any other excuses that are valid. I pretty much don’t buy the “therapy” angle in most cases.
 
I’m allergic to dogs & cats. Ridiculously allergic to cats. I can get a reaction from simply standing near a cat owner.
Please, keep your animals, your pot, your cigarettes, whatever, away from my breathing space.
 
I think it is irreverent also. To me it seems as though people who do this are saying there is something more important going on than the Mass, that having their pets with them is more important than the Eucharist. They appear to be saying their desires are more important than the rest of the body of Christ.

In the situation the OP posted the pets were well behaved. Not all people who take their dogs everywhere are quite so careful with their training. I can see so many ways this can go wrong. What if the pet makes a mess on the floor? What if there is a child who is afraid of dogs? What if the dog barks, growls at people, or even bites someone? Dogs do not belong in church.

Disclaimer The above excludes true trained service animals.
 
I have no idea why it seems to be limited to dogs. Thinking of buying a pet snake for emotional support and going to Mass, but with my luck a statue of Mary would fall on it.
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With her foot crushing its head no doubt…

I just had a sudden thought though…
I don’t know whether pets would be ‘irreverent’ (to me that sounds like a stretch and subjective) but due to the prevalence of allergies it seems courteous to avoid having pets at indoor public places when possible.
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I’ve read stories before of dogs in different circumstances actually showing reverence before the Blessed Sacrament, so…Who knows…?

Honestly, I’m not for dogs in church, but it appears that even the dogs know Their Lord & Master…Funny how animals know this better than many people do anymore…
 
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Horton said:
Really, who needs three little dogs as emotional support.
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The answer is obvious. The first dog was emotional support for the lady, whereas the other two dogs were support dogs for the first dog. 😀

In all seriousness, I agree with you that the whole “emotional service dog” thing has gone too far. For example, I got into a plane not too long ago and I had to do a double-take to make sure I was in a commercial airliner and not in Noah’s Ark with wings with all the “service animals” on board.
 
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When I grew up we had a priest once who had a dog (back in the days when dogs were allowed to roam about and then come back home when they wanted to). I seem to remember that sometimes when the priest was saying Mass the dog would walk into the church, walk up onto the sanctuary and plonk himself down in front of the priest. I seem to remember that he didn’t cause any bother and it probably would have caused a fuss if someone tried to remove him, so Mass went on as normal. I can’t remember if the dog then followed his owner (the priest) out of Mass in the recessional procession at the end of Mass (I suspect he may well have done).
 
Tommy999 said:
For example, I got into a plane not too long ago and I had to do a double-take to make sure I was in a commercial airliner and not in Noah’s Ark with wings with all the “service animals” on board.
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Some airlines do permit pets, so they may not have all been service animals.
 
I am a dog lover, so don’t get me wrong. We have a “no pet” policy where I work. Of course, service animals are exempt, which they should be. But we still have people who try to bring their pets into work. I don’t want to be around their pets while I am working. Some people are afraid of animals. They shouldn’t have to deal with that in a professional workplace. Anyhow, my point is I get why it is inappropriate for someone to bring non-service pets into church (or the movies, or the doctor’s office, or the library, etc etc etc).

I would like to say, though, it seems a lot of people in this thread are jumping to conclusions. Nobody knows why this woman brought dogs into church. I’m hearing some uncharitable conclusions about whether emotional support animals are really needed. Not nice. And not necessary. If the people in the parish are experiencing this issue, and it is troubling them, then they should ask their pastor about it. Please don’t jump to conclusions.

For those who think emotional support animals have gotten out of hand, I have to say it is a relatively new therapy (in the way we see it exercised in today’s world). All indicators are that it seems quite effective. I wouldn’t poo-poo it. I would rather people are at peace with their companion dog than have them suffer with anxiety or taking a bunch of meds.
 
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