Believe in the Power of the Doggie Jersey

I'm not much into superstitions but...

The New York Jets won their playoff game over the Bengals yesterday, and more importantly, my dog haze was wearing his Jets jersey. Every time he wears it --the Jets win. Believe in the power of the doggy jersey!



I wanted to get him the number "1/2" but they don't do fractions.

While we're discussing Dogs and sports, Clark Gillies who played for the Islanders in their glory days when they won 4 Stanley Cups dumped a can of dog food into the illustrious trophy and let his mutt eat his dinner. Someone asked "Why did you let that dog eat his food out of the Stanley Cup ?"

His response was brilliant: "Because he's a good dog!"

And trust me from the stories I have heard about that Cup, the dog's mouth might have been the cleanest thing to touch the inside of that cup in years. In fact, it was probably more dangerous for the dog than any of the players.

And speaking of hockey, I attended my first Sabres game last night at HSBC Arena with my newfound friend Steve Spear (husband of the legendary youth and young adult minister here, Patty Bubar Spear). He got me up to speed on Sabres history and while we left saddened by a Buffalo loss to Colorado, they at least got a point by taking the mighty Avalanche to a shootout. A great game and a great time with a new friend.

I was never a huge hockey fan. I mean I rooted for the Islanders in their hey-day and then got to work on Rangers broadcasts and I have a picture of me with the Stanley Cup thanks to the Devils future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur (who brought the cup to the radio station and let me carry it out to his car!). But I was lukewarm about the whole thing, riding the wave when hockey captured the attention of New York City as the Islanders did in the 80s and the Rangers Stanley Cup season after a 54 year drought. But I always thought I should have been a bigger hockey fan, because by and large hockey players are the nicest pro-athletes around. I don't think any Met or Yankee would let me touch the World Series trophy, much less, carry it out to the car. The intimacy of that trophy is renown. I even told my wife at our wedding to hold her bouquet up like she was holding the Stanley Cup.

She just looked at me oddly. And yet, she married me anyway!

Regardless, Steve informed me that these Sabres have never won the cup. Well, fasten your seat belts because there's a dog who's about to get this gift very soon...



Believe in the power of the Doggie Jersey...

And go Sabres!

A Suitable Partner

As many of you know...

I love my dog, Haze! He's a good boy and I often refer to him as "my best friend."

Each time I do this, I get a dirty look from my wife as if to say, "What the hell am I? Chopped Liver?"

To which I usually reply, "If you were chopped liver, Haze would have devoured you already!"

But as great as my dog is, he is not my wife. And while he often awakens me to the unconditional love that God has for us, perhaps what he really awakens me to is the unconditional love that Marion has for me.

She is my "suitable" partner. As we note in Genesis, God first tried to give the man one of the animals for a partner but none really were "suitable" for the man until he made woman.

And today, while we celebrate the feast day of St Francis, a man we often associate with animals, we often forget how he really was a lot more than simply an animal lover. He was a radical lover of the poor and was so convinced of his calling that he stripped himself naked in the town square and offered them back to his rich father who would have preferred that he become part of the status quo.

Francis' responds: "Not Suitable."

How often we forget and relegate Francis to the garden. Sweet Francis with the birds and the animals and the prayer of peace. We forget that Francis was much more of a lover of all creation. While he loved brother dog and sister squirrel and other parts of our environment that we indeed all too oft forget--he loved humankind in all of its beauty and fragility.

Besides being Francis' feast day, it is also Respect Life Sunday. Many times we get two extremes of a message from the pulpit today. We might get a diatribe against modern society and the culture of death and sometimes we even see inconsistent messages coming from pro life groups, like when people blow up abortion clinics, stealing the headlines from those who do such great work for the unborn and their mothers.

Or we might get no message--avoiding the subject altogether because of it's hot button nature and within more progressive circles the message of pro-life gets sidelined because some don't want others to think that this is the only issue that Catholics think about.

Francis is an example for us today who tend towards those extremes. Francis was all about touching the leper as well as the birds of the air. His dedication and piety for the Eucharist mirrored his concern for the poor, in whom he would say always led him to God.

How does our work or our lack of work for the unborn lead us into closer communion with God and with each other? Or are we more concerned with political agendas? Do we draw closer not only to those unprotected in the womb but conveniently forget the needs of the one who brings them into the world?

Do I ignore my wife's needs because it's easier to love my dog who makes it pretty easy for me to love him without much of a challenge? Do I work at my marriage as much as I should? My other relationships? Or am I content with favoring an animal who loves me?

And as my dog's keeper, do I treat him with the respect he deserves as well, as a creation of our God as well? I sometimes even take him for granted and get lax in training him or walk him when it's convenient for me to take him instead of when he really should go outside for relief and exercise.

Francis calls us all to look more deeply at how we serve all of creation and not just the parts of creation that we might be most comfortable with.

Are we willing to be left standing naked in the town square for the good of the world? Or we will cling to something that prevents us from loving all creation and our God.

A Dog?... In Church?

Every once in awhile I would be running late from one appointment or another and would bring my dog to church. Some folks were OK with it while others were very uncomfortable with the idea of having a dog in church. I think that there's a huge pastoral opportunity for someone who would consider doing a Sunday afternoon "Pet Mass." People could come to mass with their pet, especially older people who have grown attached to their companions and hate to leave them alone, or people who have pets with separation anxiety and who haven't quite worked through it yet (the way my dog was for awhile).

Many people have fears about dogs making a mess in sacred space and that's a legitimate fear with an easy solution. You have all owners sign a waiver that requires them to clean up any mess that their dog or other animal might make or they lose the privilege of having a dog accompany them. Dog fighting? Same thing holds. Dog barking...well...we put up with babies crying without much huffiness. But maybe at the Pet mass they have to go to the "bark room."

I understand that not everybody is as animal friendly as I am. Dogs can be scary for some people and cats frighten people as well. Is it appropriate for people to bring an animal to mass when that's not the norm? Obviously, therapy dogs are an exception but my friend Felicity had a quiet dog that sat on her lap all through mass and never uttered a peep for years. I think if they are quiet and unassuming and don't disturb anyone else, there's no harm in it, especially for small dogs who can remain quiet and on the laps of owners. Big dogs would be a harder sell.

BustedHalo® has a great story about a therapy pet who visits nursing homes and would go to weekday mass with her pal:

“Hey, lady-with-the-dog, what’s your dog’s name again? Lily?” asks one resident. “My great-niece is Penny — do you know her? She says she knows you because she sees you and Lily in church. I said she was mistaken; who would take a dog to church? Do you know Penny?”

“I do know Penny. Small world, isn’t it?”

“Now, why would Penny see your dog at church?”

I explain how Lily enjoys going to Mass with me.

“Well, that’s a new one on me,” she exclaims. “Penny’s Catholic, you know. I’m an Independent Baptist, and we don’t do that sort of thing.” I explain the details, and with that, Penny’s great aunt Della is off and running down the hall with the story.

“Maudie Lane, come here. I’m going to tell you such a story; you won’t believe this. You know that dog that visits us? Lily is her name. She goes to church in the Catholic church. Well, that’s not something we’d do, but that dog goes to church every single day. Can you believe that? She got trained there, the lady said.”

Maudie retells this story to the nurse’s aide: “Yes, that’s right. That dog goes to church every single day at the Catholic Cathedral. Why, she was even born at the church. Yes, as just a little puppy they say, isn’t that something? I guess she must live there.”

Now she wouldn't go to mass on Sunday with her owner which probably means that she's be less unassuming during that time. Too many people and it may cause an unneccessary distraction.

This weekend is the blessing of the animals often associated with the feast of St Francis. So we have a more formal opportunity to bring our pets to church or to an outdoor venue (as my parish does) for a blessing. So as we bless all of creation including "brother dog and sister cat", as Francis would say let us be reminded of the great companions that they are for us.

My Daily Reminder of God:

He's got a cold nose, a wagging tail and he loves me without hesitation...



with a h/t to the Deacon at his new address.

Giving new meaning to Downward Dog

From today's NY Times: Doga--Yoga with Dogs!

Ludicrous? Possibly. Grist for anyone who thinks that dog-owners have taken yoga too far? Perhaps. But nationwide, classes of doga — yoga with dogs, as it is called — are increasing in number and popularity. Since Ms. Caliendo, a certified yoga instructor in Chicago, began to teach doga less than one year ago, her classes have doubled in size.

Not everyone in the yoga community is comfortable with this.

“Doga runs the risk of trivializing yoga by turning a 2,500-year-old practice into a fad,” said Julie Lawrence, 60, a yoga instructor and studio owner in Portland, Ore. “To live in harmony with all beings, including dogs, is a truly yogic principle. But yoga class may not be the most appropriate way to express this.”

My dog has his own thoughts on this here on Haze Hayes his blog that he types as fast as his little paws lets him.

I have done yoga with my friend Fr. Tom Ryan and found it to be both physically challenging and it gave me an opportunity to meditate more intentionally. It was a Catholic experience--taking Yoga postures and putting them into Catholic prayers and then meditating for about 20 minutes afterward. To check out Fr. Tom's yoga style get his DVD here and see one of his videos and read more about it here.