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At Pastor Pete’s Pet Friends, we boldly affirm the sacred bond between God’s creatures and His people. Guided by faith and compassion, we are committed to honoring, protecting, and celebrating the animals that enrich our lives. We provide support for those who grieve, encouragement for those who care for animals, and a faithful witness to God’s presence
in every wag, purr, and flutter. 

Pet pantry hours :  Tuesdays from 3-6 PM (see us at the Farmers Market)
& the last Saturday of the month from 10-Noon beginning in May. 

“Pastor Pete” Leads New Pet Ministry at Crestline First UMC

By Brett Hetherington*
If you spend any time at Crestline First United Methodist Church (West Plains District) you are bound to run into “Pastor Pete”. Your conversation will not be lengthy, but you will feel loved as Pastor Pete is a dog and the face of the church’s pet ministry.

Getting its start at the community farmer’s market, this ministry is a new venture for the church but has quickly gained popularity.
 
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“I started bringing Pete to the Farmer’s Market,” said Rev. Jennifer Whitmore, pastor of Crestline First UMC. “They start calling him Pastor Pete. He’s calming for people, and I thought I should probably get him certified and we’re working on that right now. He’s working on being trained as a therapy animal.”

After a visit to Church of the Resurrection for a conference where Whitmore saw a pet ministry in action combined with a pet blessing at the end of the farmer’s market season that included 20 dogs, the confirmation was strong for Whitmore that it was time to begin a pet ministry at Crestline.

“I started thinking ‘what would a pet ministry look like?’ because we love our animals. I look at Pete with the people at the market and you just see that there is comfort and there is joy and people experience God’s love through their animals in a way that they don’t always experience it through other people,” said Whitmore.

The ministry was quickly embraced by the congregation and currently has about 10 people on the ministry team. They have also partnered with the Crestline Fire Department and the Crawford County Humane Society.
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One of the areas that the ministry is helping the fire department in aiding fire fighters dealing with PTSD. “Pete is a therapy dog for a first responder who then has an animal to just love on after a bad call,” shared Captain Elizabeth Miller of the Crestline Fire Department. “Science has shown that an animal to love on, to just not think about anything for 20 minutes really improves the mental health of that first responder. Pastor Pete is a great loving dog he will just take your mind off anything. I want to be able to have that for the first responders in the area for Crawford County.”

In addition to starting a pet pantry at the church, Whitmore and the team have reached out to the local veterinarian offices to inquire about what pet owners need most. The answer was overwhelmingly that there is no place to go for people who have lost their pets. So, the ministry is starting a monthly pet loss grief group, complete with a retired clinical psychologist who will help lead the group.

“Not everyone understands the feelings of grief and guilt of someone who has had to make the decision to put down a pet. Or has lost a pet. This is just another way to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a different way,” said Whitmore.
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The pet ministry is already making and delivering sympathy cards to the veterinarian office to share with grieving pet owners as an expression of love.

An additional partnership item that the church is making with veterinarians and pet owners is providing service vouchers for pet owners.
“We applied for and were approved for a $2,000 microgrant from the Conference. With $1,000 we are going to do spay and neuter vouchers and for vaccinations,” shared Whitmore.
She shared that with the remaining funds from the grant Whitmore would like to see the ministry add an educational piece for pet owners, such as having a pet groomer give a class, or a trainer give a talk, or even a vet tech share about the importance of vaccinations. All of this would be open to the entire community.

Over the winter months Pastor Pete even had space on the church’s giving fence.

“In the winter we have a giving fence with hats and scarves and gloves and prayer shawls. And down at the far end there were treats and cat and dog food and toys for people. We called it Pastor Pete’s Pet Treats,” shared pet ministry team member Becky McKean.
 
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Captain Miller sees this ministry as an opportunity to meet another great need in the community which often goes overlooked.

“We see from all lines how so many people are suffering from loneliness. It’s the number one killer in a lot of places and with the older population in this town I think this will help them heal. When you’re mentally good you’re medically good I say,” she shared.

Pastor Pete is not expected to be the only dog in service, as there are plans to enlist others. Training does take time, and this is a new ministry so he will continue to be the face for a while. But he doesn’t seem to mind, and Whitmore celebrates what he brings to the ministry of the church in Crestline.

“We think there’s a lot of potential to care for people, to minister to people, and to minister to animals. It’s caring for God’s creation, being good stewards of the animal Kingdom is part of that.”

The Conference Communications team would like to share other stories that highlight ways that each of us is answering the call to reach out to our communities in creative ways. Please e-mail your ministry story to EOC Executive Director of Communications Rick Wolcott at wolcott@eocumc.com.

* Brett Hetherington is the Communications specialist for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.
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Our Ministry 
Pet Food Pantry: Temporary assistance with pet food needs.

Annual Blessing of the Animals : celebrating the creatures who bring us joy!

Sharing Fence: Dog & cat food, treats & toys during winter months.

Pastor Pete’s Faithful Friends: Pet loss grief group the last Saturday of every month from 10-11 AM at the church.

Connection: to local resources.

Educational Opportunities: workshops on responsible pet care, pet loss, faith & animals

Community Collaboration: Partnerships with local organizations to strengthen our impact.
  • Crawford County Humane Society
  • Crestline Fire Department
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Photo Gallery

Check out some of our photos with our pet friends
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