“We sometimes have 10 to 12 dogs at a time,” says Father Albert Cutie, the rector at the Saint Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Plantation. “You never really hear them much — unless they encounter each other after Communion and then they begin to bark at each other. But everybody expects that.”

Saint Benedict’s Episcopal Church, whose motto is “all are welcome,” began offering the dog-friendly service about 10 years ago, and it has been a popular offering ever since. The service, held at 6 p.m. each Saturday, can benefit owners who’d rather not leave their pets all alone at home while they’re at church.

“Can you really pray and leave a loved one behind?” Cutie asked.

“What I love about this service — and I think that’s the reason that we have it — is that many of our people do live alone,” Cutie said. “They are elderly, they’ve lost their spouse or they’ve lived alone for a long time. And their dog really does become their companion in every way and their closest family member.”

Leila Yocum, of Sunrise, has attended the service with her dog, Little Guy, for more than seven years. “It’s very nice to have him there,” Yocum said.

Cutie was bitten by a dog at age 7, so he doesn’t necessarily consider himself a dog person. But he said he hasn’t encountered any misbehaving dogs at church, and he in turn is very respectful to them.

The dog-friendly service isn’t the only pet-oriented gathering at the church.

Once a year, Saint Benedict’s also does the Blessing of the Animals, where people can bring all kinds of pets to be blessed, from cats to snakes to bunnies to birds. It’s done in celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, the saint who loved animals and nature.

Cutie said he’s glad that dogs join their owners at the church, at 7801 NW Fifth St.

“Why wouldn’t they be welcome in God’s house?” he said. “They’re God’s creatures.”

These large golden silk spiders weave webs up to 3 feet wide. Native to warmer regions, they lurk at the edge of dense forests and light poles. Some place their webs in trees at eye-level height.

Joanne Howes, with the Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood, says you’re bound to come across them because it’s fall. During late fall the adults die off, with a new generation hatching and growing to maturity throughout spring and maturing in the late summer to early fall.

“You will most likely see them this time of year,” Howes said of the large female spiders.

The female spiders can grow 2 inches in size, excluding the span of their striped legs. The females are yellow and typically live about a month. They’re larger than the males, which are about a half-inch long, dark brown and live two to three weeks.

People shouldn’t kill them because they’re an important part of the environment, Howes said. They prey on a variety of insects, such as mosquitoes, moths, wasps and large centipede.

Banana spiders may look intimidating, but they’re actually timid and not considered dangerous. Though they aren’t poisonous, their bite can be painful.

The feathered projectile pushed through Joseph’s shirt and several inches into his torso. He believes it was catapulted from inside a passing sedan early on Tuesday morning.

At first Joseph, 58, of Deerfield Beach, thought he was struck by a rock, or perhaps debris from a shredded tire. And then he felt the left side of his back.

“I was afraid,” Joseph said in Creole.

Since he had not fallen down, he feared whoever was inside the car might come back to take aim at him again.

Joseph crossed the railroad tracks in the 2300 block of North Dixie Highway and took shelter in the shadows.

Not sure at first what to do, Joseph called a relative and then police. Deputies from the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrived.

“They told me they had never seen anything like this before,” Joseph said. The police report describes the weapon as a crossbow, or a bow and arrow.

Deputies looked for witnesses but none were found.

Joseph said he was able to walk into an ambulance. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue took him to Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach, where he was sedated and the dart was removed.

The wound was not life-threatening, but it did shake his confidence.

“I am feeling better from the way I was before,” Joseph said.

But if he sneezes or moves, he said, the bandaged wound hurts.

“The doctors told me I was very lucky it didn’t hit any organs,” he said.

Deputies were going to have the dart examined for fingerprints and possibly test it for DNA, according to the police report.

Joseph said Tuesday’s events were the first time he’s ever experienced such a shock. The married father of an adult daughter whose wife and family live back home in Haiti said he is not afraid to be in America, where he has lived since 2003.

“Life is a struggle, no matter where you are,” Joseph said. “Things can happen. People have evil in them and the only protection, truly, is from God.”

As for any concerns that there may have been poison on the tip of that dart, Joseph again relied on his faith.

“It’s up to God,” he said. “It’s because of God it didn’t do more damage inside of me.”

ljtrischitta@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta

About 400 classmates as well as teachers, the sheriff and city officials gathered in the cafeteria at Deerfield Beach Middle School to recognize the sixth-grader who last month lifted an unconscious schoolmate from the bottom of a swimming pool.

Angel, 11, was surprised at the level of fanfare but owned his role in rescuing Usely Michel, 13.

“I feel great because I saved the girl’s life,” said Angel, wearing a red button-down shirt, his hair styled in a fresh crew cut.

His beaming parents, Violeta and Antony Rivera, had taught him to swim and also enrolled him in lessons last summer.

“I’m so happy,” Violeta Rivera said. “You know, any mother would be happy. The lessons we teach him, he did.”

On April 24, Usely was in the deep end of the pool at Angel’s community, Highland Village Mobile Home Park. Angel jumped in and helped pull Usely, who is about a foot taller than he is, from the water.

Fully recovered after spending several days in a hospital, Usely said, “I thanked him a lot. He is like a part of my family. He did a lot for my family.”

A deputy’s investigation found that a man named Nelson Mendieta was at the pool and administered CPR to the teen. Mendieta was not present for Thursday’s assembly.

Usely and her family received a scholarship for swimming lessons from Florida Swim School in Boca Raton. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel gave Angel a plaque and a backpack filled with school supplies.

Usely received a backpack from Israel too, that also held swimming gear.

“To rescue someone that was bigger than him, [it was] a major, major undertaking,” Israel said. “He could have drowned himself. But he did it anyway.

“And we have a word in the dictionary to describe what Angel did,” Israel said. “The word is hero.”

Deerfield Beach Vice Mayor Richard Rosenzweig and Mayor Jean Robb were also present. Robb hugged Angel and designated May 12 as Angel Rivera Day.

“The city is very proud of Angel,” Robb said. “This young man’s decisiveness and bravery is an inspiration to all of us, and we are fortunate to have him in Deerfield Beach.”

Angel said he thinks one day he should become a lifeguard.

“I feel great because I saved the girl’s life,” Angel said. “And then look at this. They’re doing all this for me. I thank them very much for giving me this medal…I feel so proud right now.”

On the Sunday afternoon when Usely almost died, Angel said, “She looked dead. She’s alive. It’s confusing.

“At first I thought she died on me,” Angel said. “She came back to life. That’s a good thing. I think I did a very good thing.”

Usely and her grateful parents, stepmother Mirielle Michel and Ronald Michel, agreed.

The father spoke about how people from different backgrounds came together in an emergency.

“There is one thing that unites us together,” Ronald Michel said. “They call it love. If this angel and Mr. Mendieta weren’t there at that time, my daughter Usely could have been dead.

“Give a hand for this little boy, please,” Michel said, prompting cheers from the kids.

He gave out plaques to Angel, Deerfield Beach Middle School administrators, “to thank them for the love shown to my daughter when she was hospitalized,” and had one for Mendieta, too.

And to the crowd of kids, Michel said, “Listen to your parents, because they love you so much. You have to be aware of everything your parents say to you. Help your parents to make your life successful.”

LTrischitta@Tribune.com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta