the "four-legged" pilgrim

[va116]

Thank you for this very inspiring story. Both that the animals were following the path and for the kindness of the priest who allowed them in for their hug. Thank you


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rosina Lila 
  To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu 
  Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 1:44 PM
  Subject: the "four-legged" pilgrim


  Hello,
  Oso, the "Peregrino a cuatro patas" who got his own credential is not a mixed-breed dog, but is, in fact, a black Labrador.  He led his owner, Don Camilo,  up the steps behind the Cathedral, for the hug to the image of the Apostle,  and downstairs to the crypt for prayers. He also accompanied, Don Camilo, during the Pilgrims' Mass.
  And, no, Oso did not get a Compostela, but instead he was given a St. Francis medal for his collar and a special blessing from one of the Canonigos  (Cathedral priests).
  In the year 2000, after my pilgrimage, I was walking around Obradoiro Square when I saw a woman crying loudly and seemingly in much distress.  She was German, looked quite bedraggled and was with a large dog which also looked pretty much the worse for wear.  The woman was trying to make herself understood by a priest who was trying to calm her down, to no avail.  She appeared to be in her fifties or sixties.  I went over and asked her if she spoke English, and when she said that she did I offered to translate whatever she was trying to tell the priest.  She had walked all the way from her hometown in Germany with her dog, some sixteen  hundred  kilometers, had just arrived in Santiago and had been stopped from  going into the Cathedral with the dog;  she insisted  that the dog was as much a pilgrim as she was, if not more, and that the dog had undergone serious hardships and deserved to go into the Cathedral (in fact, one of the dog's  paws had a bandage and the other paws had been obviously treated with some blue medicament); she was crying and crying  and refused to go in when I offered to look after the dog for a while.  Eventually another priest came out to talk to her; he was older and seemed very kind, and he said that dogs are simply not allowed in the Cathedral except for the day of the Blessing of the Animals, but he said that if she came back at 7:00 p.m. by the Azabacherias door he would see what he could do.  I myself went to that door  close to 7:00, and the woman was there with the dog, both still looking pretty  pitiful; the older priest came out and led the woman and the dog into the church, and up the steps for the hug, and down to the crypt, and about fifteen minutes later out of the Cathedral through the same door; as they came out the woman looked radiant.
  Two or three days later I ran into them at Obradeiro and hardly recognized them because then they both looked shiny, spiffy and quite elegant.  The woman saw  me and said something to the dog in German who then went towards me, put his front paws on my shoulders and licked my cheek.  Overcome by emotion I just smiled and moved away to dub away my own tears.
  Although by nature I'm not given to regrets, I sure very much wish that I had gotten the woman's, and the dog's, name and address.  
  Well, they're often in my thoughts and always in my good wishes.
  Regards,
  Rosina  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.oakapple.net/pipermail/gocamino/attachments/20040718/52034092/attachment.htm