San Anton, patron saint of pet food

The British cling to the belief that they're the most animal-friendly people in Europe, but I don't think they can compete with the Spaniards. It may be true that bulls and donkeys are slaughtered on a regular basis throughout the country, but when it comes to their mascotas, the Spanish are as soft-hearted as anyone else. Today is San Anton's day, when religious pet owners in Spain take their dogs, cats, hamsters and canaries to church to have them blessed and sprinkled with holy water. In a secular alternative, Ideal in Granada gets people to send in pictures of their pets for posting on the paper's website. Here's just one of several dozen.

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