Hunter Wilson/Daily News Emma Goetz (right), 12, gives Clyde the dog a kiss on the head with friend Amelia Creed, 12, during the blessing of the pets on Friday at St. Joseph School. Both girls attend the school.

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The playground outside St. Joseph Catholic School was overrun by blessed little critters Friday morning as students and their parents brought their pets to the school for the annual Blessing of the Pets.

Using a bullhorn (so as to be heard over the dozens of barking dogs), the Rev. Stan Puryear of St. Joseph Catholic Church said a prayer for the dogs - and cats, fish, hamsters and other gathered animals - before walking about the playground to use what is known as an asperger to sprinkle holy water on the animals.

An annual tradition at St. Joseph and in numerous other Catholic churches, the pet blessing is performed to honor St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, on the anniversary of his death in 1226.

Known for giving up a life of wealth to care for those in poverty, St. Francis is often said to have blessed a flock of birds that sang and fluttered their wings after he told them to praise God for their ability to fly, sing and make nests in trees.

In another oft-told legend, St. Francis helped an Italian village, ravaged by a wolf that had killed and eaten the town’s livestock, make peace with the wolf, with St. Francis ultimately baptizing the animal.

“Originally, the day was for a blessing of livestock, but more and more, pets have become part of the family in the past 100 years, so the blessing has extended to include them,” said Puryear, who owns three Labrador retrievers and a Lab/collie mix that were all blessed Friday.

Angie Richardson of Bowling Green carried a fishbowl that was home to newly blessed goldfish Swishy.

“We hope Swishy lives a long, long life,” said Richardson, the mother of 6-year-old Lauren Richardson, a first-grade student at St. Joseph.

Last year, the Richardsons brought their pet hermit crab to be blessed.

Jennifer Vowels of Bowling Green and her 8-year-old son, Evan, saw Puryear bless their dogs, a shih tzu named China and a Boston terrier named Radar.

“This is my first time out here,” Jennifer said while Evan struggled to keep Radar away from other dogs. “They’ve been acting a little bad.”

In addition to the pets brought by students, the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society brought several dogs and cats from its animal shelter. St. Joseph students have been collecting supplies to contribute for the shelter this school year as part of the National Catholic Educational Association’s “Celebrate Service” campaign.

Preschool teacher Stephanie Morgan said the humane society has offered different animals each Thursday and Friday for the class to feed, walk and look after in other ways.

Friday, the students played with two dogs: Bonnie and Clyde.

“This is a chance for the kids to learn how to take care of another being,” Morgan said. “Some kids don’t get to be around animals, so this is a great opportunity. Bonnie and Clyde have already been adopted, or else we’d want to adopt them ourselves.”