The Cathedral’s Dean, the Very Reverend Anne Wentzel, and the Dean of St Michael and St John’s Cathedral, Father Pat O’Regan, presided over the event, which was held on the lawns outside the Anglican Cathedral.

At the beginning of the blessing, Fr Pat said it would be interesting to see how the bunnies and dogs behaved, adding that they may need to be kept apart.

But every animal was on its  best behaviour, enjoying the peaceful nature of the morning.

Dean Wentzel opened the blessing, thanking everyone for their attendance and saying it was both meaningful for them and their pets.

While numbers were down on last year’s event, Dean Wentzel said she will continue to build on it.

“It will be on the first weekend in October next year, so get the message out to your neighbours and friends,” she said.

She also said the earlier time slot worked very well.

“I think it works better for the animals. People can come, participate, and then go home,” she said. “This is all about the animals so we have to keep them in mind.”

Damian Bellamy who, along with his children, Peter and Nicholas, and wife Jen, brought their pet chicken Kiev to be blessed, said the kids really wanted to be involved.

Noel Speering agreed, saying his son Benny read about the blessing in the Western Advocate, and had been looking forward to it all week.

“This is the first time we’ve ever been and it was great,” he said. “Benny had fun, we brought our dog Rex to get blessed. It was great, ” he said.

Following the blessing a plate was passed around, with all money donated to be used to assist feeding Bathurst’s homeless.