The blessing of our team pooch Alfie

Alfie all decked out for his special day

Most of us have heard of Saint Valentine, but how about Saint Anton, patron saint of the animal kingdom?

Early on in the year, when the rest of the world is swooning over love notes thanks to St. Valentine, a tiny village tucked away in southern Spain goes “animal” over Saint Anton…and their pets.

TA-DA!’s art director Andrew is a British man who recently packed up and left bustling London for a more quiet life in sunny Andalusia, Spain.

We treasure being privy to the complete transformation his life has taken, his (fast-track) Spanish-language learning adventures, and the truly delectable cultural discoveries he and his partner are able to savor pretty much daily.

Like this: 4-legged family member Alfie received truly divine treatment recently as he was blessed by the local priest! And as if that weren’t enough, there was a complete village procession and fiesta surrounding the occasion.

Here’s what Andrew shared about the day:

Every village in Spain has a patron saint of the village. Ours is San Anton - and “dia de San Anton” (the day of the patron saint) takes place on 17th January.

San Anton just so happens to also be the patron saint of the animal kingdom, so a mass (Catholic church celebration) takes place in the “hermita” (hermitage - a small chapel, often used by pilgrims).

People queue up to get their pets blessed by the priest, followed by a procession where the statue of San Anton is paraded throughout the entire village.

No fiesta is complete without food, so once the trek comes round full circle, the entire village partakes in a huge BBQ, complete with drinks and dancing. The entire shindig is totally free, by the way.

It's a fantastic day!

Andrew Watson, Art Director, TA-DA!

From these photos, it looks like a truly special occasion.

Have you ever experienced something like this? Please do share. We’d love to hear all about it!