Bark Mitzvah? Meowzal Tov?

I was just reading about a local event of blessing pets called a "Bark Mitzvah" and scooped some fun Jewcy-ness for us to shower on our darling animal companions.

Some people do individual Bark Mitzvot for various reasons, and some folks really, really have a Bark Mitzvah, or a Meow Mitzvah, but that's a bit of a different post. Diana Guerrero's Blessing of the Animals covers some pet spirituality "with such chapters as “Rites of Paw-sage: Muzzle Tov,” about 'bark' and other mitzvahs" (but also not overlooking heavier topics like illness and loss– btw, here Rabbi Goldwasser offers up some suggested text for pet burial.). The Rabbis of Boca Raton Theological Seminary compiled a more lighthearted How to Raise a Jewish Dog for your reading pleasure, as well.

You could, I suppose, style your pet in this pet kippot, this pet kippot, "Pisher", "Shana Punim" and "Yenta" doggie t-shirts, "You had me at Shalom" doggie t-shirts, Kosher Hot Dog shirts, chai maintenence collars, and, pets probably want a little bling, too. Maybe this bling. Small Dog World sells all sorts of find little doggy Judaica like really, really tiny doggy tallis and kippot, treats, and very tiny Magen David tennis balls. If you're really into dressing your pet, this chanukiot dreidel hat might be a nice start (hi, my cat would claw my face off if I tried to put that on him!). Of course, you could dress your pet in a matzoh-print pet sweater, too, if that's your bag. Oy. Uh, hit YouTube for a sec and see some folks having a lot of fun dolling up their pets here, here and pets howling along to a bracha. Oy.

Here's what Star-K Kosher certification has to say about kosher pet food, fyi. If you want to make sure, Kosher Pets has all sorts of resources, including kosher dog food and treats, kosher cat treats, a downloadable Passover feeding guide and a special holiday section. Evanger's has all sorts of reading, resources and products for pets (my kitty looooves their canned cat food). And, for Pesach, hit Kosher Pets or this joint that offers up Kosher for Passover cat food. Of course, if you feel like you need to go all out, the chef at Club-Beverly Hills will whip up kosher for your pet. Doggies might dig these little dreidel treats, these Chanukah bones, or cute Chanukah treats. Of course, you'll need to keep your pet treats in a cute container like this, perhaps give your pets some kasher-assurance with this food bowl, or this one.

As for playtime, the possibilities are endless with options like Shmutz the Octopus, Lox the Fish, pet dreidels, Schlep the Camel, pet gelt, squeaky Mensches, rattley-squeaky Chanukah bear, catnip matzah ball toys, squeaky matzah balls, and other goodies from Chewish toys. Or, you can, uh, send your pet this kosher dog gift basket or this one.

Of course, for those of us with pets who love them to bits, we can show our pet pride in our own Judaica like this kitty chanukiot, weiner-dog chanukiot, well, all sorts of animal-themed chanukiot, doggie mezuzah cases, kitty mezuzah cases, really, and, sometimes, your Judaica purchases can even go to pet-related causes.