I'm not traditionally religious myself, but I think this story on NPR is interesting... a church has begun welcoming dogs at their services. I think this is a positive thing-- openly validating the connection between humans & their other-species family members, and recognizing other species (not just the dang humans!) as important living things... even if it *is* perhaps just a shameless ploy to get butts in the pews, I kinda feel good about the message it conveys...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120821494

Any thoughts?