CONSECRATED CRITTERS ANIMALS OF ALL STRIPES RECEIVE THE BLESSING.

Byline: Steve Carney Staff Writer

They bleated and cooed and barked and mewed Saturday as a procession of pets led their owners down Olvera Street for the 70th annual Blessing of the Animals.

A crowd of about 1,000 watched hundreds of pet owners bring mostly dogs, but also cats, birds, turtles, lizards, fish, llamas, pigs, chickens, goats, lambs and others for the blessing by Cardinal Roger Mahony. The leader of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles greeted pets and people as they passed, and sprinkled them with holy water.

Leading the procession was Raymond, a 2,200-pound Holstein accompanying his owner, Jim Morrow of Acton.

``He was raised with people and has never seen another cow. So he thinks he's people,'' said Morrow, a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, who keeps Raymond in the back yard.

Raymond mooed loudly for attention whenever someone wasn't petting him, and nudged curious onlookers with his wet nose and television-set- sized head.

``We have to have chains on all the gates, because he can operate them,'' Morrow said of his crafty companion. ``He lets the horses out so he can eat their food.''

Lourdes Anderson of Los Angeles was continuing a family tradition Saturday by pulling a pair of ducks and her 5-month-old daughter, Sophia, in a Radio Flyer wagon. The ducks belong to her father, Adalberto Vega, an Olvera Street shopkeeper who has participated in the blessing for 42 years.

``It's a tradition. We come out and bless the animals for all the good things they've done for us,'' Anderson said. She thinks the ducks' blessing will stick, even though the holy water rolled off like - well, you know.

According to the archdiocese, the tradition of blessing the animals on Holy Saturday ``recalls that all Creation awaits the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.''

The Zorthian family of Altadena continued a 50-year tradition of bringing animals to the blessing, which is sponsored by the Olvera Street merchants.

``It's the one day of the year where the animals take precedence. That's why we carry them,'' said Toby Zorthian, 49, hauling a cart carrying two ducks and what he called a ``funky chicken.''

Even the Easter Bunny showed up. Or at least someone in costume.

``Look, it's snake food,'' said Bart Hibbs of Pasadena, who brought Vincent, his albino Burmese python, and Tiffany, a boa constrictor. ``Cardinal Mahony always likes to see them,`` he said of the snakes. ``He likes to pet them.''

Sherman Oaks natives Suzanne Plutte and her daughter Lara brought Hayden, a 2 1/2-year-old blue Weimaraner named not for Tom, but for a lake in Idaho.

``He needed to be blessed,'' said Lara Plutte, 22, who now lives in Silver Lake. ``He gets beat up a lot at the dog park, so this is his little angel edge.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Cardinal Roger Mahony blesses llamas Saturday during the 70th annual Blessing of the Animals on Olvera Street.

(2) Jen Jen, an iguana belonging to James Phillips of Hollywood, keeps on top of the action while awaiting a blessing.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer