Pope gives sniffer dog a pat of thanks

By Rupert de Lisle on Monday, 20 September 2010

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday stopped to give a police dog an unexpected pat while thanking some of the 2,000 members of the West Midlands Police who had helped to protect him during his visit.
After meeting the seminarians of England, Wales and Scotland at Oscott College, Sutton Coldfield, the Pope saw Jake, a black Springador who acts as an explosives sniffer for the police.
Wading through a crowd of public servants the Pope was greeted by the dog, who appeared to enjoy the attention.
Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe said: “It was a pleasure to meet his Holiness and very kind of him to take time to extend thanks to all the officers involved in the police operation.”
“This has been a hugely complex operation. It has involved agencies from across the public and private sector and been months in the planning.  I’m pleased to say it has been a resounding success.”
The Pope expressed his gratitude “for all the hard work of preparation” for his visit before departing for Rome from Birmingham International Airport.

I've got to say here that with all the initially bad PR before he arrived there and the threats of possible agitation and safety issues, 'alls well that ends well'! He asked for prayers before he left. Millions of faithful gave him just that. There were rosaries, prayers, hopes and well wishes from the faithful for more than a week before he left and all during his visit there. Many of us were nervous where there were threats of 'civil arrest' by atheists and others seemingly living solely for the purpose of making Benedict PAY for ANYTHING that's been done in ANY denomination of Christianity since time immemorial! Well, can't tell me prayer doesn't work. Not only was he safe with no real mishaps (even the one effort was thwarted without any real impact, thank God), but many of the media now hold a new found respect and perhaps even reverence for him. His trip was a colossal success, Praise God! :)