Thank you to the gazillion people who came out to Moe’s last Monday to benefit my nonprofit group Central Georgia CARES. We had a great time and are so appreciative to Moe’s and you for supporting our animals.

There is another event just around the corner you don’t want to miss either. Next Saturday, Oct. 13, from 8 a.m. until noon, Northside-Wesleyan Animal Hospital will have another Pet Health Fair and Vaccine Clinic.

The hospital is located at 335 Charter Blvd. right behind State Bank and across from Pinegate Retirement Community. Dr. Edsel Davis and Dr. Chris Gris will provide rabies shots for $10 with part of the money donated to CARES. There will be no charge for an office visit and other vaccines are available as well.

Bring your dog on a leash and cat in a carrier and come out to see us. CARES and I will be there looking for you!

The benefit at Moe’s and the pet health fair are just two more ways very nice people have shown that animals matter. But did you know there is a also a patron saint for animals?

There sure is, and his name is St. Francis of Assisi. His story is fascinating, and we’re celebrating his love for animals this week.

St. Francis loved animals, and they loved him. He knew they mattered. There is an amazing account of how St. Francis saved a wolf the residents declared was dangerous and that they were going to kill. He rescued the wolf, then the residents began feeding him, and the wolf and the residents lived in harmony for the rest of the wolf’s long life.

St. Francis was canonized a saint for his good works. And every year communities all around the country recognize his love for animals around his feast day by hosting a Blessing of the Animals.

It’s so nice to see churches allow pets come to be blessed and have the clergy pray over them. I usually get a lump in my throat when I hear clergy thanking the creator for animals’ lives and the joy they bring to people.

I always pray for the animals in shelters that don’t have families with which to share their love. And I pray for shelter animals that are unjustly labeled vicious or aggressive when in reality they are just afraid. But many pay the ultimate price in shelters because they are misunderstood and mislabeled.

St. Francis knew firsthand about animals that had been deemed vicious. That’s what happened to the alleged aggressive wolf he saved.

St. Francis knew the wolf’s life mattered, and when given a chance to prove he wasn’t dangerous, the wolf and the residents lived together without incident. What an inspiration.

Send questions for AC Pup to acpup247@yahoo.com. Visit www.acpup.com or see his Facebook page.