The St. Patrick’s Day season is upon us and, here in New York City, we all become Irish, at least for a day. Since 1762, New York City has celebrated the Irish patron saint with a parade. In the past, I have written about St. Patrick’s Day traditions that might pose risks to your pets. Today’s blogpost will focus on the saints associated with animals and March 17th.

St. Patrick – Sheep and Snakes

We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th because he is believed to have died on this day. St. Patrick’s life was filled with animals. Before his conversion to Christianity, he was a shepherd. The animal St. Patrick is most closely associated with is the snake. St. Patrick is credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland; however, Ireland has not had any snakes since long before St. Patrick’s time, making this just one of many charming myths about the saint.

St. Gertrude of Nivelles – Patron Saint of Cats

March 17th is another saint’s feast day: St. Gertrude of Nivelles, the Patron Saint of Cats. Like St. Patrick, she is believed to have died on March 17, possibly in 659. Why St. Gertrude is considered the patron saint of cats is unclear. Religious paintings of St. Gertrude often show her with mice or rats, but not cats.

The black plague raged in Europe during St. Gertrude’s lifetime, spread from house to house by rodents. St. Gertrude was often invoked to protect people and homes from rodents, a very cat-like behavior. Perhaps her role as a protectress against rodents is how she became known as the patron saint of cats, but her role as the patron saint of cats is a seemingly modern invention.

St. Roch – Patron Saint of Dogs

Up until a few weeks ago, I did not know there was a patron saint of dogs, St. Roch or St. Rocco. I saw St. Roch’s statue when I was visiting the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. The wooden statue, which is the photo accompanying this blogpost, portrays St. Roch and his dog. I’m including him in this blogpost even though he is not associated with March 17th since his story is touching. Like many medieval saints, St. Roch cared for people with the plague and contracted it himself. He was dying of plague alone in a remote hut and miraculously a dog brought him bits of bread every day, keeping him alive long enough to recover. Some years later, Roch and the dog were imprisoned. While in prison, the dog began caring for prisoners. St. Roch died in prison, and nothing is known about the fate of his dog.

I like to think this nameless dog was the first therapy dog and should himself be considered a saint along with all animals who enrich our lives.