Mariners Church of Irvine (just down the street from my home) uses now has a “canine ministry.”

According to a LA Times article,  the dogs sit outside the church in order “to put people at ease and begin a process that could lead them to God.”

It may be true that animals can break down barriers, ostensibly making it easier for “secular man” to accept a sacred experience.  But honestly, doggy drool on the church steps seems more like a tactic to destroy the barrier between sacred and profane space than anything else.