EVEN Doctor Dolittle would have struggled to control the array of pets that descended on St Giles Church.

But yesterday all creatures – great and small – were on their best behaviour.

The church in Woodstock Road held its fifth annual animal blessing service, inviting parishioners to bring their beloved pets as it marked the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

For the half-hour service guinea pigs and dogs, including one bred in Ohio in the United States, fell silent as the Reverend Canon Dr Andrew Bunch led a series of hymns and readings related to animals.

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In his sermon, he referred to the role of donkeys in the Bible, and joked that no-one had ever considered the hard work they had to put up with.

Gillian Kent, from Didcot, bought her seven-year-old Basset Hound Winnie, who she had picked up from a rescue centre eight months ago.

The 46-year-old said: “The dogs all seemed to enjoy the service and apart from some noise Winnie was pretty quiet throughout.

“It’s great that they hold events like these because animals deserve to blessed too, not just us.”

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Rev Canon Dr Andrew Bunch with Evie the guinea pig and owner Clare Brennan 

Dr Bunch, 62, said the church started the service to give people the chance to give thanks for the role pets play in their lives.

The Church Way resident, who has worked at the church for 18 years, said: “It was a sweet occasion, all the pets were pretty silent and looked like they appreciated it.

“They’re God’s creations, so why not accept they add to our lives and encourage us to be human.

“Often our animals are very good at telling us things, but we’re sometimes rather deaf to what they are.

“We have many parishioners who have got pets so its good for them to bring them along, and we’ve seen numbers grow every year.

“I’ve bought my own Irish Setter Thea before and she has always been very quiet as well during the service.”

Hymns played during the afternoon included All Things Bright And Beautiful and How Great Thou Art.

Dr Bunch said that over the past five years people have brought dogs, guinea pigs, budgies and even stick insects.

But he admitted in future that he might draw the line at a llama, if only for space reasons.

Ben Simpson, who brought his five-year-old King Charles Spaniel Casper, said: “The afternoon was good fun, all pets are part of the world after all so it’s only right that they should be let into the church.

“Casper can be very excited, especially around other dogs, but on the whole they were very well-behaved.”

St John Vianney Church in Wantage also held an animal blessing service yesterday with a donkey.