Orthodox prayers for animals and pets

Lord Jesus Christ, my God,merciful and all-good,You made all creation in wisdom,the unseen and the seen.You pour out Your mercieson all that You have made.In Your all-good providenceYou provide for all Your creatures and care for them all:bodiless and bodily,with reason and without it,living and lifeless,from the first to the last.For nothing is left without Your care or neglected by You,the Maker of all, Who provides for all.

For You open Your handand fill every living thing with Your goodwill.You make grass and green plants grow for the cattle,for the service of mankind.Long ago You kept the herds of Israel safefrom the deadly blowthat struck the firstborn animals of the Egyptians.By Your coming in the fleshYou destroyed him who held the power of death,that is, the devil,and by Your death You put death to death.

Through me too, Your unworthy servant,You killed the serpentthat had poisoned the spring of water with its venom.The animals that drank from it and diedYou raised up by Your life-giving power.And You made the demon that had worked with the serpentshow itself,and it swore never to dare come nearany place where my humble name is called upon.

So I pray to You, all-good Master, Maker of all,and I beg You, the Source of all life:hear this prayer of mine.Drive away every deadly sickness and harmfrom the oxen, horses, donkeys, mules,sheep, goats, bees and all the other animalsthat Your servants need for their life,who call on You, the Giver of all good things,and on my name.

And grant, O Lord,to all who keep my memoryand come with faith to my relics,lasting peace, the increase of their animals,and plenty of wheat, wine and oil;and above all, forgiveness of sins, health of body,and the eternal salvation of their souls.

Yes, Lord Jesus Christ,moved by Your own tender mercy,have pity on the suffering animals,cut down in their herds by the sickle of death.They have no words.Only by their lowing, and their mournful, wordless cries,do they tell their suffering and pain, so pitifullythat even we who have reason are drawn to feel for them.For if a righteous man has pity on the life of his animals,as it is written,how will You not have pity on them,You Who made them and provide for them?For You, Compassionate One,remembered the animals in the ark too,won over by Your own goodness and mercy.

May the oxen and the other four-footed animalsthrive and increase,so that the land is tilled and its crops grow,and Your servants who have called on my nameenjoy the fruit of their own farms in plenty.Having all they need from their farms,may they abound in every good work.May they glorify You, the Giver of every good thing,and honour me too, Your servant,who pleads most warmly before Your almighty Majesty.To You belong all glory, honour and worship,with Your Father, Who has no beginning,and Your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit,now and always, and for ever and ever.Amen.

You love all things that exist,and You loathe nothing You have made,for You would never have made anythingif You had hated it.

How could anything have lastedif You had not willed it?Or how could anything You had not called forthhave been preserved?

You spare all things, because they are Yours,O Master, Lover of all that lives.

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,Your faithfulness to the clouds.Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,Your judgments like the great deep.O Lord, You preserve people and animals.

How precious is Your love, O God!People take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.They are filled with the plenty of Your house,and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.

For with You is the fountain of life;in Your light we see light.Continue Your love for those who know You,and Your righteousness for the upright in heart.