Saint Olivia?

Did you know there was a dog saint? And that it was a Greyhound? Yeah, me neither! This is a rather timely revelation, considering that the new Pope has named himself after Saint Francis, the Patron Saint of Animals. Here's the scoop:

"Saint Guinefort was a 13th century dog that received local veneration as a saint after miracles were reported at his grave.

Guinefort the greyhound belonged to a knight who lived in a castle near Lyon [France]. One day, the knight went hunting, leaving his infant son in the care of Guinefort. When he returned, he found the nursery in chaos - the cot was overturned, the child was nowhere to be seen and Guinefort greeted his master with bloody jaws.

Believing Guinefort to have devoured his son, the knight slew the dog. He then heard a child crying; he turned over the cot and found his son lying there, safe and sound, along with the body of a viper. Guinefort had killed the snake and saved the child.

On realizing the mistake the family dropped the dog down a well, covered it with stones and planted trees around it, setting up a shrine for Guinefort. Guinefort became recognized by locals as a saint for the protection of infants."

According to Wikipedia, the cult of this dog saint persisted for many centuries, until the 1930s, despite the prohibitions of the Catholic Church.

Maybe the new Pope will "paws" for thought about this because hey, if ever a creature deserved sainthood, it would have to be a dog.

Can I have an "amen?"