Bemused dogs and glowering cats were hauled before their local priest for a Spanish blessing ceremony on Friday.
Pet lovers carrying birds of prey and tiny hamsters were part of the same procession in Madrid, while the town of Muro, on Majorca, was overrun with livestock.
Every single animal is dutifully dashed with holy water, though it doesn’t look like they all appreciate the gesture.
The tradition marks the feast day of San Antón, the patron saint of animals, and is celebrated throughout Spain.
January 17 was historically set aside as a day of rest for field animals, who were taken by farmers to their local churches to be blessed.
Horses and oxen gave way to dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and even rats or snakes as keeping pets became more popular.
But farmers still herd huge flocks of sheep and geese along the streets to ask for divine protection.
San Antonio Abad (Saint Anthony the Abbot), known in the English-speaking world as Anthony the Great, was a Christian monk from a wealthy family who lived in third-century Egypt.
His parents died when he was 20 years old, and he gave away his family’s property and wealth to the poor in order to live a meagre existence in the desert.
According to Christian legend he discovered wisdom through coexisting with nature, and would bless animals and plants in his path.
He is said to have healed a wild hog suffering from blindness, and is often depicted with animals at his feet.
But it’s thought the origins of the ‘Beneïdes’ (‘blessing’ in the Majorcan language) festival date back to pagan times, when farmers vulnerable to the elements begged the gods to protect their flock.
Majorcans traditionally made their living from subsistence farming, but the island’s tourism boom means only a few rural pockets depend on agriculture today.
The tradition is popular in parts of mainland Spain, too. In Zaragoza, hundreds of people queue in front of a single church, San Pablo, to ask Saint Anthony for their pets’ protection.