The Reverend George T Schramm is more than just a guide to his flock. He is also a HUGE fan of dogs, and never misses an opportunity to tell people about it. He’s believes so strongly in the connection between a dog’s love, and God’s love, and this weekend he will again be holding a special dog blessing at his church.
“It’s no accident that dog spelled backward is God,” Schramm said.
The Trinity Episcopal Church along with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church will be holding the blessings at the town’s fifth annual DogFest. Reverend Schramm will be doing the blessings on Saturday, and Reverend Karen Erskine-Valentine from St. Peter’s will be doing them on Sunday.
This isn’t the first time that Schramm will be offering the blessing to the area’s faithful at DogFest. He actually estimates that he gets to bless around 50 dogs at each event, and both the dogs and the humans seem to enjoy seeing the church extending a little bit of love to our canine family members.
“Almost all dogs have been absolutely wonderful about letting me put my hand on their head and bless them,” he said. “Dogs naturally have a keener awareness and appreciation of a creator, of the gift of life and of the need to provide love.”
There are two dogs who reside at the church with Rev. Schramm, one called Sophie who is a 13-year-old bulldog and her adoptive sister Eloise who is also a bulldog and is 4. Both are cared for by Schramm, and he says they’re very popular with his congregation. They love to greet everyone as they come into the church, and they even get to act as therapy dogs when necessary.
“They have a real sense for who needs them to come close so they can pet them,” Schramm said. “You learn to read them pretty well after a while.”
For more information on DogFest, visit the Shepherdstown Visitor’s Center website at www.shepherdstown.info.
