Pets afterlife?

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buffalo: That reasoning doesn’t hold up completely, however. We know that Heaven will not just be some “other place”, but Creation blessed with the Divine Presence. We will not cease to have material existance in the Last World, but rather a complete unity between soul and body. Why wouldn’t there be animals in Paradise, espescially since they were originally part of Creation, and were designed to keep us company? Our pets don’t divert us from God’s love, but rather demonstrate God’s love for us. God pours out Its love for us into the world in countless ways, and pets are one of the best examples of this; they aren’t seperate from God’s love, but rather they are God’s love made material and manifest.
 
Animals were intially put on earth to have dominion over and to serve our needs. That dependence will not be needed in heaven.
 
Animals were intially put on earth to have dominion over and to serve our needs. That dependence will not be needed in heaven.
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You seem to be seperating animals place in regards to humans from God’s love. God’s love gave us animals, and we will still partake in God’s love in Heaven. There is certainly no reason to believe that God’s affection for us on Earth is somehow not reflective of God’s affection for those in Heaven. Yes, we will be perfectly unified with God, but we will still be perfectly human, in fact more perfectly human. Our human design incorporates an appreciation and love for nature, as can be seen in Genesis, and this would only be enhanced by the full realization of God’s plan for us. God wants us to feel affection for animals, else God wouldn’t have made us this way, or them the way they are.

We will still have taste buds in Heaven, and I’ll still enjoy a cold beer. Why wouldn’t Heaven include the soft touch of a beloved dog or rabbit?
 
I thought “In Heaven there is no beer that’s why we drink it here”
 
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buffalo:
I thought “In Heaven there is no beer that’s why we drink it here”
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Just what I needed - a really good excuse to drink beer: I gotta drink enough now to last me an eternity!
 
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buffalo:
I know this is going to be hard on many people, but all living things have souls. Souls are what animates them. Only humans have an immortal soul. When we die our soul separates from our body. Our soul holds us reponsible for our actions. Animals do not have immortal souls and are not held responsible for their actions. They cannot choose for or against God. Because of our souls we can see God. Since their soul is out of existence when they die, they cannot see anything. By this reasoning it is unlikely we will see animals in heaven.
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I see your point and agree with the part about animals not having immortal souls. But I would go further and say animals have no souls. I believe all living things have a life giving spirit (given by God, of course) and that is what animates their physical bodies. But man also is given a soul, that part of us that is made in God’s image. In this way, man is a physical body with a living spirit and a soul containing free will and the power of reason…something vaguely similar to the Trinity. Well, not similar…but analagous. The point is, I feel all animals have a living spirit which survives their physical bodies. Man has a soul which can keep him from being with God, but animals, absent this free will and power of reason, can go nowhere but to God.

I explained in more detail in an earlier post. But it’s just my opinion. It’s all a mystery we can never hope to understand until we can ask God face to face.
 
I wish the CCD teacher who told my son, when he was 9 years old, that his dog was not in heaven could have read this thread before opening her mouth. His dog died on the day he went to CCD. He was crying and when she asked why and he told her, then he said that he would probably see his dog in heaven. See flatly said he would not. He left CCD and refused to go back, we finally enrolled him at another parish’s CCD program and he went through his confirmation. However, I don’t think he ever really had any faith and now considers himself an athiest (he is 23). I do believe she will have to answer to God for helping drive him away. I take responsibility for not being a better teacher of the faith also. Please pray for him to return as I do daily. Also pray for the CCd teacher and me. Thank you.
 
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Lance:
I wish the CCD teacher who told my son, when he was 9 years old, that his dog was not in heaven could have read this thread before opening her mouth. His dog died on the day he went to CCD. He was crying and when she asked why and he told her, then he said that he would probably see his dog in heaven. See flatly said he would not. He left CCD and refused to go back, we finally enrolled him at another parish’s CCD program and he went through his confirmation. However, I don’t think he ever really had any faith and now considers himself an athiest (he is 23). I do believe she will have to answer to God for helping drive him away. I take responsibility for not being a better teacher of the faith also. Please pray for him to return as I do daily. Also pray for the CCd teacher and me. Thank you.
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Do you think the CCD teacher was wrong? Or insensitive. I am confused by your post.
 
There is some discussion in Romans 8:19-22 about all creation groaning for redemption.

True, animals don’t have rational souls, therefore they do not experience the beatific vision in heaven.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t go to heaven. Animals suffer the same corruptible form as all of creation, and our Lord gave us hope of a new heaven and a new earth, where the bonds of corruptible existence will be broken, where there will be no more weeping, and no more pain.

There is nothing in Catholic teaching that precludes animals reaching heaven, nor is there anything that affirms that they do. As long as you are careful to limit what you confess, understanding that animals cannot possibly share the promise of the beatific vision, there is no sin in extending your personal hope of going to heaven to include your pets.

If I am wrong on a doctrinal point, I hope someone will correct me.
 
Have any of you read "A Travel Guide to Heaven by Anthony Destefano? He talks about pets in heaven. He believes they’ll be there. It’s a really interesting book.
 
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Leo44:
Forgive me in advance, but I think we are looking at “pets” in the wrong light. I think people extend the care and attention to amimals that is reserved for people. I grew up on a farm, we raised rabbits, they were sunday dinner, same for chickens, the young calf born to our milk cow became meat. In our society we have advanced to the stage where we do not see amimals this way, but most of the world does. What was Gods plan for animals…? Are we now miss applying our attention on creatures that were put here for mans use?
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I believe we may be. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on pets and supplies. Imagine those same resources going toward the poor that many in other threads claim to be so important. I guess it becomes a matter of priority. Pets are # 1. The poor and truly needy are #2.

Imagine the same love and time investment that people show to pets being invested in the poor and truly needy.
 
What about all the animals we’ve slaughtered and consumed over the millennia; are they in heaven too? Personally I just can’t see it.
 
Buffalo,

I don’t know whether the CCD teacher was right or wrong, but he or she was definitely insensitive. I’ve heard this same story, or a similar one, many, many times, and my mind boggles to think that one could be so cruel to a child.

There are questions such as this one to which I prefer simply to give the response of a young woman named Alisseta Boneta, who once said to an inquisitor:

“She refused to swear [that he was right and she was wrong] because none of us knows what the judgment of God will be.” Amen.

Naprous
 
I remember when I was small I had a pet and Sister told me that my pet wouldn’t be in heaven. Had no problem with it at all. it was just the way it is. Didn’t lose my faith over it. Something deeper is going on with Lance’s son.
 
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Bushwhacker:
As I understand Church teaching, after the Fall in the Garden of Eden, ALL of nature was altered, and fell, as it were, from its ‘first estate.’ It is said that all creation groans for the restoration of its first estate. The new heaven and earth will be that restoration, and the lion will lay down with the lamb.

Could it be that in the Garden, before the fall, animals had a much higher level of intelligence and awareness? Did Adam talk to them?

I believe that in heaven, all the animals that we have loved will be restored to us, and we will be able to communicate with them through some sort of language. I believe their intelligence will be raised up in some fashion. I cannot support that with any definitive Church teaching or Bible text, it is just my belief. I believe they will share in heaven because I believe God will redeem and restore His creation as it was intended to be. One thing is for sure: with God all things are possible!
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I’m with you on this one…
 
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buffalo:
Do you think the CCD teacher was wrong? Or insensitive. I am confused by your post.
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Insensitive and maybe wrong, we don’t know what the after life will be like.
 
I wholeheartedly believe in an afterlife for animals. It isn’t a heaven/hell type thing, since animals don’t sin, but perhaps something like limbo - a place of happiness. I think for each animal the afterlife would be a bit different depending on how intelligent the animal was on earth. There’s a big differenece between an earth worm and a dolphin. I came to this belief for two main reasons.

1- animals suffer so much on this earth, and an omnibenevolent God will “wipe away every tear from every eye”. In some sense, for every sorrow that has happened on this earth, God will have to make it right in the end. I don’t see how this can happen for an animal that dies a painful death, for example, and the animal ceases to exist in any form afterwards. I think it might very well be the only way to balance out the evil of innocent animals suffering, is to comfort them in an afterlife of sorts - even if isn’t Heaven per se.

2- animals are clearly conscious beings. Why would they not continue on after death? Well one reason could be is that their consciousness is purely physical and it dies with their bodies. Fine and good, but now the same thing could be said about us humans. If we believe that there is something fundamentally non-physcial about consciousness and that it survives death, then there aren’t really good grounds to deny animals that same possibility (insofar as they are conscious). If something as mysterious and frankly God-like as consciousness is just a physical phenomena for animals, then it’s highly likely the same applies to humans, who are biologically animals too.
 
a third reason is that I believe in evolution. one of the tricky things about evolution for a Christian is that there was no clear dividing moment between humans and non-humans. It was a gradual and vague process. In light of this, it’s unlikely there was a decisive moment when some primate like creature got an immortal human soul, while it’s parents who were very similar didn’t get one. But if you believe that animals had immortal souls all along, evolution and the “ensoulment moment” aren’t problems anymore. Perhaps souls evolved along with bodies to the point that they became the image of God and capable of sin and salvation. I don’t pretend for a moment this is “orthodox” but it’s what makes the most sense to me.
 
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buffalo:
All living things have souls. Souls are what animate them. Only man has an immortal soul that continues on. All other living creatures when they physically are no longer animated. Their soul dies with their body.

This may help - ewtn.com/expert/answers/pets_in_heaven.htm
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If by help, you mean changed my mind…it didn’t. This article defines the soul as that which animates the physical body. I called that the spirit and expanded that by saying man has a soul that separates us from the other animals. If our souls are that image of God in which we are created, and all beings have souls, then all beings…not just man…were created in God’s image. I still prefer to think of all beings as having a life-giving force or spirit, and only man has a soul. But it is a matter of semantics. If you use the words soul and spirit synonomously, then that makes a big difference.

But personally, I think this whole thread is merely an exercise in academia. It doesn’t matter to our salvation whether our pets are there or not, and our salvation is what it’s all about. If it comforts someone here and now to believe his or her pet will be in Heaven, then I say let 'em believe, and agree with them just to make them happy. If they get there, and the pet’s not, it won’t matter. Even the love of a faithful old pet would pale miserably in the Light of the Lord face to face.
 
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