Menagerie of animals blessed at Nelson Cathedral on Sunday

Pet owners will lead, carry or coax their treasured moggies, pups, lambs and birds to Nelson Cathedral this Sunday for a Blessing of the Pets service. The annual event has in the past attracted a menagerie of all-sorts, including rabbits, goats, cats, dogs, kunekune piglets, and once even a box of worms. This year's guest preacher will be Pepin Island farm manager Andrew Newton, accompanied by his sheepdog Flo. Dean Mike Hawke told our Nelson reporter Tracy Neal it might sound like a recipe for chaos, but all the animals he's blessed in the past have been remarkably well behaved.