For one weekend only, West Rotorua's St Barnabas Anglican church opened its doors to all worshippers, be it two feet or four, hosting a special service observing the feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of companion animals and the natural environment.
Reverend Susan Cooper said St Francis
was known to have had a close bond with the natural world.
"There's quite a lot about him preaching to the birds and he considered them his brothers and sisters just the same as humans," she said.
The service included a blessing of the congregations' animals, extending to all that can be put on a leash, in a cage, or a fish bowl.
And there were blessings for furry friends who couldn't be there in the flesh, with grieving pet owners bringing a photograph to remember them by.
"To bring a photo means that they still remember them, and that love goes on - it's just a way of giving thanks," Cooper said.
The service was part of the Season of Creation, which acknowledges the Earth, climate change and the environment; and offers a reminder to take action.
Cooper thinks of animals like St Francis did and believes there's a place for them beyond the physical world.
"Whether there's a pet heaven and a human heaven - St Francis treated all the creatures as his brothers and sisters, so I guess he thought and decided that heaven was for everything that breathed.
"For me, you know, their souls meet our souls so why shouldn't they share heaven too?"
