Canines in UU Congregations? How Ruff is That?!

Since the spring of 2024, the Florence UU Fellowship has allowed dogs in their Sunday Services, and it has gone well — not even dogs singing along with the hymns! The Chapter Leader of their Animal Ministry graciously agreed to share their experiences. Here are a few questions and Stanley's responses:

Where did the idea come from?  Many of our FUUF congregants have dogs, and most do not want to leave their dog at home or in the car. We had also heard that another church in town (Episcopalian) let congregants bring dogs to Sunday Service, so we asked: Why not here?

Any questions/concerns you needed to address?  Yes, we created a proposal to present to the FUUF Board, which included pros and cons. The Board then polled all congregants for their input. The majority of folks were strongly in favor, but also wanted guidelines in place to address the concerns that had been raised, and this is how the guidelines were created. (See FUUF guidelines for bringing dogs to Sunday Services here.) It started out just the 5th Sundays of the year. By 2025 we were allowing dogs once a month, and then quickly all Sundays were open for bringing dogs.
Did questions of possible church liability come up?  No. What did arise were "concerns", and how we responded to those concerns was to formulate precautions and solutions to address each and every concern.

How many dogs might typically show up?  Between 1 and 5.

Did you have requests to expand this to other companion animals?  No.

Any interesting/amusing things happen?  Many people who don’t have a dog will come and get their dog “fix” with the dogs who attend with kisses, cuddles, and lap time! Sometimes, a dog will get a bit anxious or noisy — in which case, they are asked to quietly leave with their human.

Any lessons learned/recommendations you’d have for churches considering this?  Yes, be open to issues that may arise and be open to finding solutions so that you create a win/win for all. For example, one time a person came in who didn’t know the guidelines, and their dog was not on a leash, and it was a big dog, who immediately started roaming outside our “dog area” in the sanctuary. So we decided to have someone from the Animal Ministry near the door where congregants with dogs enter to advise them of the guidelines for each service. 

If this is something your church might be considering, you can contact Stanley for more information at fuufanimalministry@gmail.com.