Service of Remembrance for Animals held at UofG
Published: 5 December 2014
A Service of Remembrance for Animals was held at the University of Glasgow chapel on 2 December.
A Service of Remembrance for Animals was held at the University of Glasgow chapel on 2 December.
The service was to remember companions and working animals, especially those who died during the First World War.
The service, led by Reverend MacQuarrie, included a sermon by Moira Rankin, Senior Archivist at the University.
Over 120 people attended the service which included a mixture of poetry, song, singing by the Chapel Choir and personal reflections. The service also featured a performance by a clarsach player and a folk singer, as well as a poem written by the Chancellor.
Photographs of pets from the University’s students, staff and the public were displayed on a screen throughout the service, including some images from the First World War.
This was the fourth year that the annual event has taken place which aims to highlight the role of animals in human lives.
Stuart MacQuarrie, University Chaplain says: “Animals play a huge part in providing companionship and support. Because of this, they can help comfort people in times of distress. It is hugely important that we acknowledge that many animals, particularly horses and dogs, made a huge contribution to the Great War, and so it seems fitting to honour them for their service to us.
“We hold this event every year, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow’s Small Animal Hospital, to recognise the role that animals play in our lives. This year the commemoration service holds special significance as we’re marking 100 years since the beginning of the Great War.
“It is hugely important that we acknowledge that the Great War took the lives of a great many animals, many of whom were still being used in combat throughout the war.”
There are already plans to hold the remembrance service again next year.
Stuart MacQuarrie said: “It is one of those Services we hold now where those who have a religious faith comfortably sit alongside those who of different or no particular belief system. It is about using the Chapel as a sacred space for all.”
Pictured below is clarsach player, Heather Downie, with her Shetland Sheepdog, Gypsy. The dog is currently being treated at the University of Glasgow’s Small Animal Hospital.
First published: 5 December 2014
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