Carrying on a tradition that the church had started several years ago, the Sunday service on that day had been designated as Blessing of the Animals Day.

And there were a lot of furry creatures that showed up to be blessed. There were the cats and dogs, of course, and the occasional hamster and snake. Three horses showed up to be blessed this year, which was a first for the church.

The church was a cacophony of noise much before the service started. Excitable dogs sat in the pews with their owners and eyed other dogs warily. Some barked while some wagged their tails.

"This is a tough audience," said the Rev. Ernest Cockrell, who coordinated the ceremony.

If the hall was slightly noisy, it became much noisier when it came time for the offering of the peace segment, when neighbors and friends turn to greet each other.

At that point Cockrell uttered the word that he has been using at this special service over the years.

"Sit," he said, talking more to the animals than their masters. He was greeted with a few twitters and yelps from his audience.

"Let the procession begin," he said right after that.

And with that, the furry creatures big and small began their short march to be blessed.

Brian Howay, who lives in Morgan Hill, showed up for the service with three of his horses—Marshall, Tucker and Flush. "This is the area where I grew up. It was fun to be here with the horses," said Howay.

His horses were very much the stars of the show.

"We are all part of God's creation. It was my dog's turn to be blessed today," said Mary Beth, who came with her dog, Boomer.

Buster and Lulu, two pugs from San Jose, showed up with their owner, Scott Malsom. "I decided to show up for the fun of it," he said.

"This is the fourth time in 10 years that we decided to have a blessing of the animals in the church," said Cockrell.

"I am always amazed by how well behaved the animals are at the gathering," he said. "I think dogs get territorial when they are outdoors. They realize they are at a people place inside and behave accordingly.

"It is a very emotional moment for many," he added. "Some older people live alone and their pet is their only companion."

He said that some years ago a couple jogging on the street outside the church heard about the special service. They decided to rush back home and get their golden retriever, who was critically ill, to the service.

"She was a sweet dog but she had no energy. She gave a faint wag of the tail when she was blessed," said Cockrell.

At this service, Cockrell was at a loss when a little girl put her hand forward and asked him to bless her animal. "It took me a while to realize that she had a snake wrapped around her arm," he said.

Cockrell estimated that about 450 people participated in the special service, which is 10 percent more than usual.

"We just relax and see what happens. The pet sees that and begins to relax, too," he said.