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Edie Falco Joins Camels, Kangaroos as Stars of Animal Blessing

By DNAinfo Staff on October 3, 2011 6:48am  | Updated on October 3, 2011 7:28am

By Sonja Sharp

Special to DNAinfo

MANHATTAN — The camels, yaks and miniature horses weren't the only stars of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine's animal blessing.

"Sopranos" star Edie Falco was also there, cuddling with a kangaroo.

Falco got up close and personal with the adorable marsupial Sunday as part of the 27th Annual Feast of St. Francis of Assisi at the Morningside Heights church.

“It’s my first time doing this,” she said as she passed off the joey to its handlers. “It’s one of the better days I’ve had.”

Pet-lovers from the five boroughs and beyond flocked to the cathedral with their dogs, cats, birds and other critters to receive a special blessing in the name of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals. 

Sweet Pea, a South American coatimundi, and Dwight Soule, 52, make faces while they wait for the parade to begin during the Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Oct. 2, 2011.
Sweet Pea, a South American coatimundi, and Dwight Soule, 52, make faces while they wait for the parade to begin during the Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Oct. 2, 2011.
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DNAinfo/Sonja Sharp

Some, like Chuckles the parrot, 20, and his owner Linda Raeside, have been coming for years. Others, like Kay Martin, 71, of Brooklyn, and her Pomeranian, Goblin, were making their first trip.

“The only saint I believe in is Saint Francis,” Martin said.  “This is my heart on four legs.”

Martin had traveled from her home in Gravesend, Brooklyn, with friend and fellow Pomeranian enthusiast Elaine Wishnow, 66, a regular who brought two of her prized pooches and a fistful of St. Francis medals to be blessed.

“Tess is having surgery in three weeks and Indy’s 11 years old, so I wanted them to be blessed this year,” she said.

But for many visitors, the highlight was the more than a dozen exotic visitors from upstate — among them a camel, a yak, a giant tortoise and a miniature horse —many of them stars in their own right.

“Ted is very laid back, nonchalant, very experienced, and very handsome — wouldn’t you agree?” Barbara Khan boasted of her donkey companion. Ted stars alongside Ted the camel at the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Pageant, earning money for other rescued animals at the Dawn Animal Agency sanctuary in Westtown, NY where they live.  

Third generation owner Amanda Brook, 26, provides New Yorkers with rescued camels and coatimundis for everything from Christmas pageants to parties in the Hamptons. But for her, the Feast of St. Francis is important.

“This event is very special to me,” Brook said. “It’s the animal’s day to be respected. It’s something that should be celebrated every day.”