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The canine congregation gets comfortable as the Rev. Ken Asel delivers the sermon during Sunday services at St. John's Episcopal Church. NEWS&GUIDE PHOTO / BRADLY J. BONER

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On Sunday, all manner of creatures graced the aisles, pews, entrance, piano and even the altar of St. John’s Episcopal Church.

In the minutes before the 10 a.m. service, the church looked as though it was gearing up for a dog show or perhaps even a pet fashion show as owners and animals poured in through the front door.

One man cruised in with three dogs attached to his left hand. Ann Smith, founder of PAWS of Jackson Hole, brought in her two Portuguese water dogs, Pico and Clouseau, as well as her rescued dog, Bandit. She required the assistance of a friend to get all of three through the door.

But the church wasn’t hosting a dog show, it was preparing for the annual Blessing of the Animals, a tradition that began nearly 10 years ago at St. John’s. The Blessing of the Animals typically happens the first week of October in honor of the Feast of St. Francis, which takes place Oct. 4.

The Rev. Ken Asel began the service by saying, “Quiet down. You’re disturbing the dogs.”

His pug, Rexie, lurched forward on her leash at the front of the church. Rexie put on a little performance, scurrying forward and backward, breathing hard. “It’s been my experience the pets do this better than us, so let’s try to impress our animals today,” Asel said, holding onto Rexie’s leash.

Music Director Pam Phillips’ black Labrador, Molly, sprawled on the floor to the right of the altar. With her eyes closed, she rested her face on the floor. A bright pink leash kept her attached to the piano where Phillips played, though Molly made no sign of moving until Phillips got up from her seat. When Molly began to anxiously pace, Phillips detached Molly from her leash and allowed her to follow her to their next musical perch. “She’s Labaradorable,” Phillips commented after the service.

In the front row, Karin King’s dog, Boo, a Lab-hound mix, stood at attention. Boo sported a red handkerchief around his neck, and at one point he leaned over and licked the miniature dachshund named Frannie sitting to his right.

Frannie had on a pink shirt, as well as a flower-studded collar. Her sibling, Skip, a border collie/English spaniel cross, lay huddled underneath the pew below the feet of their owner, Lynn Mathews.

Other dogs felt quite comfortable sitting beside their owners in the pews. Bruce Hawtin’s little Westie, McCauley, enjoyed sitting quietly up on the pew, with ears perked up throughout the service.

By contrast, Susan and Franklin Christopher’s 14-year-old cancer-detecting yellow Lab plunked himself down in the center aisle at the back of the church. Several people, including Asel, stepped completely around Ben to make their way up and down the aisle.

Given that there were more than 50 animals in the church, the church was surprisingly quiet, with the occasional yelp, bark and whimper emanating through the room.

When the congregation finished singing the opening hymn, “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” Asel launched straight into the Blessing of the Animals. Over a little table that held baskets of dog bones and cat treats, Asel poured water into a big metal bowl.

 “We ask you, Lord, that we may be good to our pets always, so that they may be happy and healthy also,” Asel said as part of the blessing prayer.

After the blessing prayer, Asel called for volunteers to help pass out dog treats.

“I need some people to help me with dog treats and cat treats, and hopefully the cats won’t be the dog treats,” he said. “My deep fear is that someone’s Rottweiler will eat someone’s $80,000 cat.”

It seemed as though the pets themselves wanted to be blessed, because they rushed Asel in a massive huddle of dogs and leashes and owners. Up front, several children passed out treats.

In past years, horses, rats and guinea pigs have been blessed, but on Sunday it was mostly dogs. Some wore sweaters. One came forward on a fancy zebra-patterned leash. Another wore a flattering beige wool scarf as a leash. A border collie  had an American flag kerchief around her neck.

Some brave cats made their way through the crowd. Brad Abrams and Robbi Farrow brought forward their two cats, nicknamed Callie Courageous and Phoebe Fearful.

Callie sat in Robbins’ arms while Phoebe hid out in the back of her cage.

“That one doesn’t dare get out, but this one’s doing pretty good,” Farrow said. When Asel went to open the cage, Farrow said, “Don’t open it or we’ll have cats on the rafters.” Asel blessed Phoebe though the cage.

Adelle Erickson, 8, had her turtle, Rexy, blessed. She commented that she was glad she had him blessed, as he was her only surviving turtle.

 “He seemed kind of scared,” Erickson said, and contracted her neck to show how Rexy had behaved.

Anika and Zane Lyons, age 8 and 5, brought their stuffed horse, fish, dinosaur, bulldog and turtle to be blessed. “These guys took a little nap,” Anika said.

The music was also geared towards animals. “A Place in the Choir” was the offertory hymn, with the chorus being “All God’s critters got a place in the choir, some sing low, some sing higher, some sing out loud on the telephone wires, some just clap their hands, paws or anything they got.”

Asel’s sermon focused on the importance of animals and people belonging to one another. “Sacramentally, they remind us that we belong to each other and this earth and in some way to our pets and they to us,” Asel said.

As members of the congregation went forward for communion, they brought their dogs, cats, turtles and stuffed animals with them, some carrying them under their arms, others bringing them forward on leashes.A few dogs tried to make getaways. Neil Saunder’s bichon frise, Lily, cocked her head to the side and sat upright, smiling at the congregation.

“We saw a lot of smiles today,” said Joni Mack Weed, parish life coordinator.