La Bendición de Mascotas

When you are a rancher or in agriculture, there are always the things that you don’t want to talk about. One of those things is Lucy. Dannielle got Lucy for her #2 to have his own dog. And those two are peas in a pod. Unfortunately during covid, we learned that Lucy had epilepsy. And all of a sudden, she went from going to all the places with her kid, to staying at home and trying all kinds of meds and therapies and diets to help her survive. She’s now 7. But unfortunately, all the meds and therapies and diets are slowly not working anymore.

Dannielle’s son went to work with her one day during spring break and one of the workers at the Mexican Consulate reminded him about the bendición de mascotas in Los Angeles. It’s a tradition that was founded in Los Angeles in 1930, but it has been around since the 4th century. The priest would bless the livestock of the farmers to keep them healthy and productive . This benefits the whole community. Today, it’s not just livestock, but includes all animals.

So they went. Dannielle packed up the car with her kid and his dog and drove the hour and a half to Olvera Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Lucy slept the entire way. And when they arrived, waited patiently. She preferred to nap. They all waited in line for an hour. By the time that they made it to the priest, it had been two hours. This was the kiddo’s last ditch effort as the family has been discussing whether or not to put her down. They got blessed, went to the car and drove home. Lucy slept all the way back to the desert.

Today, Dannielle was in the middle of writing this post while at work. Then her older son called. Lucy had passed away when her kiddo was on his way home from school. She left her meeting and this blog post and rushed home. She had to break the news that Lucy had passed away. Then they made Lucy’s grave. Unfortunately it was her time. And fortunately they had one last special trip to share between them. It was a somber evening around the Chavera household. This is the part of ranching and farmer that no one likes, everyone knows about, and something that has to be dealt with when it comes.

Ranching isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Lucy will be sorely missed.