The “blessing” of animals is a superstition that has its origin in pagan rites of animal sacrifice.

Animals do not need any blessings, as Walt Whitman wrote in Leaves of Grass: “I think I could turn and live awhile with the animals... they are so placid and self-contained... They do not sweat or whine about their condition. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God... No one is dissatisfied... not one is demented with the mania of owning things. Not one kneels to another nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago.”