Father Andrew Heyes, Rector of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Tampa—a uniquely canine-centric man of the cloth, rarely going anywhere without his Doberman, Humphrey, at his side, sometimes including the altar—recalls growing up in Northwest England with the first of a lifelong string of dogs. 
He remembers a decidedly pro-animal ethos amidst his family (he notes that relatives bred
dogs) that he absorbed and then projected as he moved forward—school, seminary, churches he worked at before landing at St. Clement’s in 2006. He describes in glowing terms what he encountered at St. Clement’s upon that arrival, emphasizing how welcoming, warm, and friendly everyone was, and even then—the better part of 20 years ago—many of those working and worshipping there were clearly animal people. Still, even a whip-smart pooch like Humphrey (whom Father Heyes enlisted to write a periodic blog for the church website) might not have predicted that St. Clement’s would evolve into the singularly fauna-friendly church that Heyes leads today. Toward that end, while many churches offer a Blessing of the Animals, St. Clement’s version, slated for Oct. 4, amounts to a full-blown production—as Father Heyes describes it–more like a festival, with assorted booths and tables, offering various products and services, animals available for adoption, all kinds of food, pet CPR training, face painting, and more. This Blessing is, in no way, limited to dogs and 
cats, but welcomes all of God’s creatures–Father Heyes says he’s blessed critters ranging
from stick insects to skunks. We go on to discuss other St. Clement’s components that distinguish it as a safe haven for animals and their humans, including the People and Pets Ministry, which seeks to keep people and their pets together, even under financially-challenging circumstances, including providing pet food (and some veterinary care) to at-risk families. Plus, “Bring Your People to Church,” in which, on the third Sunday of each month, St. Clement’s invite parishioners to bring their animals to attend services, affording people the opportunity to worship alongside their pets. Under the watchful eye of Humphrey, lounging at Father Heyes’ side in the WMNF studio, we talk about his love of Dobermans—including Humphrey’s predecessors. And how when parishioners seek his counsel, for grief or other significant matters, he’s learned those sessions tend to be most effective when both he and the parishioner direct their comments through the dog. Lastly, we explore Father Heyes’ previous life as a rocker, serving as lead singer and guitarist for a Genesis-like progressive rock band; this was before he attended seminary. During this part of the conversation, for the first and only time, Humphrey looked genuinely befuddled….(https://stclement.net/)
ALSO: I spoke with Fluffy Cazalas, the President of Full of Cattitude, a cat rescue in Ruskin, Florida. She described some of the work Full of Cattitude undertakes, including remaining undeterred by major (and expensive) veterinary procedures for one of its feline charges. She noted that she’s a lifelong rescuer—not just of cats, but any animal needing help. And she confirms that as the leader of a cat rescue, her name is not too good to be true—her legal name is Fluffy. Additionally, she touches on CATstravaganza St. Petersburg, the sprawling feline-minded event slated to happen that Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Coliseum in St. Pete–Full of Cattitude planned to participate. Cazalas observed that the cat show component doesn’t just feature the expected purebred contestants, but also makes room in the competition for rescue kittys. (https://www.fullofcattitude.org/, https://lovingcatsworldwide.com/)
COMEDY CORNER: Amir K’s “My Dog Talked To Me” (https://amircomedy.com/)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme”
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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