Students from Leeds Beckett University joined the congregation at All Hallows Church Bardsey, north-east Leeds, to help organise an animal themed day which included a pet service, animal themed fair and family fun day all rolled into one.
A team of Events Management students had worked with the church to put the day together, and a top attraction was the Tailwaggers Display team who showed off the agility, obedience and intelligence of dogs working with their handlers. “Sequence dancing with dogs” is how one visitor described it as the dogs moved in step to tunes such as Footloose, and Thunderbirds.
Among the children’s activities was Animal Confessions. Children were invited to draw their pet and say what the naughtiest thing their pet had done. Eating Christmas decorations, chewing through electric cables and eating the Easter eggs were some of these.
There were a variety of stalls to wander around, offering pet gifts, a wonderfully stocked cake bake stall, BBQ, ice-cream and tea coffee and soft drinks being in great demand.
The afternoon was rounded off by a Blessing of the Pets service inside the church led by the Rev Lynne Grey. She said, “The rain held off and the sun shone. We were very blessed.
“It was the first time All Hallows had worked with students from, Leeds Beckett and it’s something we would like to do again. Jacquie Earnshaw, the Churchwarden from All Hallows worked closely with the students to give everyone who came a wonderful day. A huge thank you to all who took part.”