11.12.2024
Bark the Herald Angels Sing – Celebrating the Joy of Dogs with Peata
Dogs of all sizes filled Christ Church Cathedral with great energy and joyful barks for the annual Peata Therapy Dog Carol Service yesterday (December 10). Some had donned festive outfits and others were enjoying the different smells of the cathedral but all were celebrated for the gifts they bring to their families. Many of the dogs present were therapy dogs and people who benefit from their visits were also in attendance.
The service was celebrated by Archbishop Michael Jackson along with Dean Dermot Dunne and the Revd Lindsay Llewellyn–MacDuff. The Girls’ Choir, conducted by the Director of Music Tom Little, led the singing wonderfully and the highlight was the concluding hymn, Bark the Herald Angels Sing.
Peata Therapy Dogs and their owners visit caring units and bring many of the therapeutic benefits and pleasures of pets to residents and patients. They usually undertake weekly visits and Peata is an entirely voluntary organisation.
Speaking during the service, Peata’s chairperson Dr Margo Wrigley thanked everyone for coming to the service, including the many visiting teams. She explained that Peata is a small charity the function of which was to provide a little bit of joy, happiness and distraction to people who live in nursing homes, attend day centres and people in hospitals. In the past couple of years they have expanded their services to include children with autism, ADHD and dyslexia.
Dr Wrigley said that they now had 51 visiting teams who all give of their time voluntarily. She said the service was their main fundraiser of the year and she thanked the Dean and his staff who invite Peata every year and thanked the Archbishop for his support. She also thanked the choir for adding to the festive occasion.
During the service a collection was taken up for Peata and the Peter McVerry Trust.
