EASTER BLESSING; PEOPLE BRAVE RAIN FOR SAKE OF DOGS, FROGS.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer Dressed in matching yellow rain slickers, Alika, her two offspring, and their friend Maddie were appropriately attired for Saturday's Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, and is otherwise known as the birthplace of the City of Angels or El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument and is a department within the city. . The pooches were among hundreds of animals that endured pelting rain to participate in the annual springtime ceremony overseen by Cardinal Roger Mahony His Eminence Roger Michael Cardinal Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the fourth Archbishop of Los Angeles, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991. that heralds the arrival of Easter Sunday. ``I do it in hopes our dogs will be safe from any harm,'' explained Frances Olvera, 25, of Highland Park as she watched over her canine cadre with friend Keith Young, 29, of South Pasadena. Olvera, making her third pilgrimage to the event, swears that the blessing protects her dogs. ``I've had them two blocks away from home and I've been able to find them,'' she said. While Young brought Maddie, a 6-month-old boxer, to the afternoon event, he left behind his two kittens because they were too young. ``They're 6-month-old kittens, plus I didn't want to freak them out,'' he said, as a pair of snarling snarl 1 v. snarled, snarl·ing, snarls v.intr. 1. To growl viciously while baring the teeth. 2. To speak angrily or threateningly. v.tr. dogs squared off behind him in line. Adela Mercado said the blessing definitely benefits people, rather than animals. ``It has a calming effect on owners,'' she said as she peered in at her cat, Jimmy, an orange Manx huddling inside a pet carrier. Morales and her parents brought Kiko, a 2-year-old Chihuahua-terrier mix, to the blessing. ``It's so he can have a good year and doesn't get sick,'' said Morales, 26, a MacArthur Park resident. Marta Czavala, 26, of Echo Park, brought four parakeets parakeets one of the bird groups known as typical parrots in the family Psittacidae. Small parrots with long tails and include the budgerigar. to the blessing. Clutching two cages swathed in plastic, she gingerly made her way through line, glancing warily at a cat lurking over its owner's shoulders. ``It's my first time,'' she said in Spanish. ``It's a good thing.'' Lorrie DeYoung, 34, of Hollywood hoped a sprinkle of holy water would help her ailing black German shepherd, Trevor, cope with a benign fibroid tumor Fibroid tumor A noncancerous tumor formed of fibrous tissue. Mentioned in: Infertility Drugs, Oral Contraceptives the size of a basketball bulging from its right side. Trying to remove the tumor would threaten the 15-year-old dog's life more than leaving it, she said. ``I'm having him blessed to make it more bearable bear·a·ble adj. That can be endured: bearable pain; a bearable schedule. bear ,'' DeYoung said, as she and her 3-year-old son accompanied Trevor to the front of the line. Patricia Nunez, 13, of East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. brought her horned horned adj. Having a horn, horns, or a hornlike growth. Adj. 1. horned - having a horn or horns or hornlike parts or horns of a particular kind; "horned viper"; "great horned owl"; "the unicorn--a mythical horned beast"; bullfrog bullfrog, common name of the largest North American frog, Rana catesbeiana. Native to the E United States, this species has been successfully introduced in the West and in other parts of the world. The body length is 4 to 8 in. , Keroppi, to the ceremony. ``It's so he won't get sick,'' explained the seventh-grader as she watched over the critter, lounging on a bed of moist soil in a plastic container. Corey Powell, 31, of Hollywood and friend Nicole Speed, 28, of Eagle Rock brought Paco, a 6-year-old black mutt Powell found during a trip to Rosarito, Mexico./ ``I figured he was Catholic,'' said Powell, who festooned Paco in a garland of faux hyacinths, strawberries and other fake flora. Elsa Mercado, 31, of East Los Angeles, and Dianna Hernandez, 32, of Alhambra, used the occasion to introduce their felines to the Roman Catholic religion. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if it's more for me and my peace of mind or for hers,'' said Hernandez, lifting a blanket from a pet carrier to reveal Misha, a gray domestic short-hair. The blessing of the animals rite has been celebrated yearly by the merchants of Olvera Street since 1930. The ceremony dates back to the fourth century. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) A youngster walks by with his Dalmatian to be blessed by Cardinal Roger Mahony. John McCoy/Daily News |
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