Actually, after reading several of the posts on this subject, I think everyone has been very courteous and respectful of each others opinion. Where our little furbabies are concerned, we all have warm and fuzzy feelings for them because they bring so much love and joy into our lives. Losing Sissy the way I did a few days ago, it was only with the thought of seeing her again when I cross over the bridge, that got me through the long, dark days. A couple of years ago, on the day that my sister died unexpectedly, my little Yorkie Lacey also died unexpectedly. In my sorrow, my parish priest asked me if I thought this was a sign? And yes, after thinking about it, I just knew that Pauline stopped by the house on her way out and took her favorite furbaby with her. There was no reason for Lacey to die, as she was not sick. But, we did bury Lacey with Pauline, so they are together forever.:animal-pa

I am Catholic and well the teaching of the church is somewhat silent on whether animals will definitly be in heaven...I like to believe that is because it is something that cannot be known to us here on earth, but I also like to have faith that God is fair and would want us to have our precious pups in heaven...

Pope John Paul II taught love for animals, and I since is the only Pope I have known in my lifetime I will listen to him...:)...In 1990, His Holiness traveled to Assisi the birthplace of St. Francis (the patron Saint of animals) and spoke of the saint's love for animals. He declared, "We, too, are called to a similar attitude." He proclaimed that "the animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren." He went on to say that all animals are "fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect" and that they are "as near to God as men are," and reminded people that all living beings, including animals, came into being because of the "breath" of God. Animals possess the divine spark of life--the living quality that is the soul--and they are not inferior beings, as factory farmers, fur farmers, puppy millers etc, and would have us believe.

I believe in the Pope's teaching because well he is the elder of my church...But even if you are not Catholic but are some denomination of Christian there is some scripture that should make you hope your animals will go to heaven...For example:

Isaiah 11:6-11: “the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox . . . They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord . . .” (Isaiah 65: 25).

PSALM 36:6 "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike"

I agree that everyone so far has been courteous and respectful. But Yorkie Talk seems to be very respectful in general, which is one of the reasons I like it here so much.

Safiyah

lol that's true, i always end up fighting with my bf if we talk about religion so i just tell him im not talking with him about it anymore.

Back to my other post, i really don't know if animals go to heaven or not and growing up as a Christian, my brother was born again(for those that know what that means) when he was 17 and he studied the bible a lot, went to church more than i did, etc. He told me that animals don't go to heaven but that is based on what the bible says and the wording of the bible for me is kinda hard to understand so i chose to believe that they do. Anyway i always grew up with animals, since the age of 3 and i loved them soooo much so when i was little in my thoughts i believed that they did go to heaven when they died. I asked my mom once when i was little and i asked what about bears, sharks, etc. how can they go to heaven if they're scary and kill people? She told me then that in Heaven everything is different, all the animals are nice, you can give a bear a hug, you can ride on the sharks in the crystal clear water, etc. so i always had that mental image in my head of me being in heaven with all the animals in the world, and that everybody got along with them. The only animal that i was told is not God's creature is the snake, i dont know if that's true or not. But anyway that is what i believed when i was little and i still believe that. Oh and also when my cockatiel died when i was 9, i cried for 3 months straight. My brother one time put his hand out the window and an icicle fell in his hand, and it was shaped like a hand and a finger pointing up to the sky. That was around the time when my cockatiel died and i took it as a sign that he would be waiting in heaven for me, and i think i will see him again one day. I loved that bird. :(

I've always been taught that animals don't have souls so they have no afterlife, but who knows...

And God Said............
 

09/01/05
Hurricane Katrina

And God Said…

It was just another storm. Part of the circle of life of this wonderful world that we live in. But this time God knew that it would be different. He would need help this time. He’d asked for help before, from those very special creatures who he created on the 5th and 6th days. Creatures of comfort. He knew how much the critters of the air, sea, the wood and the desert gave comfort to those on earth who he given “free will”.

There would be a lot of new souls entering Heaven in the next few days. God knew how much comfort his special ones had been through the ages; to those on earth and those who had made the journey to him. Some had been pets and companions, some had been among the unwanted or the wild. Here they were special and they had a special job. The birds and the lizards, the turtles and the bunnies, the horses and the goats, the cats and dogs and all of the others. Especially the dogs and cats. They were there when they were needed. Those before them had done it since the beginning of time. Whenever there were a large number of souls “coming up” they were called upon to be the greeters. The Tsunami was a rough one, so many at once, but they did their job. 9-11 had been another tough day. So was Okalahoma City. But once again they did it.

And God said “ They’re coming soon. There will be so many that will be frightened and alone when it happens. They’ll need to see you as soon as they get here. Be ready. You are my special angels. There will be so many of them that you will see others of your kind coming to help also. They will know what to do, I’ve told them already. There will be babies and children, young adults and old ones. They will all see me when they arrive but they’ll also have one of you with them always. You will be with them and they will be with you. “

And it happened as God said. All of those who came to heaven were greeted by a special love, a familiar love. An unconditional love that only God can create. They had comfort of angels and the Glory of God. They were home.

:yeahthat: Good answer Lori!!!:thumbup:

THANKS for that!

I don't know if anyone can truly answer this in anyway, but boy...I sure hope so, because I want all of my beloved animals (past and present) to be walking with me FOREVER! :justahug:

I don't know if I'm going to heaven, but If I don't, I want to have the chance to at least stop by Rainbow Bridge and kiss my babies good bye and see them for the very last time 'cause I'm sure that they will go to heaven, but if I get to go to heaven...well, words won't be enough to describe my happiness.:)

I believe that every living thing has a spirit and will be resurrected. I believe that there will be animals in heaven.

I would like to think animals go to heaven like Mufasa in LionKing, but biblically I don't think they do. Now my Native American (Indian) culture leds me to believe that they are a part of the spirit world, considering I am born into the wolf and bear clan....but, for me, I am just going to enjoy my girls one day at a time and when I die and go to heaven I will be all knowing...as it is written in the Bible,,,,Don't worry about tomorrow when today hasn't even ended yet.

Do dogs go to heaven? I believe in my heart without a doubt that they do.

Here is an interesting site that discusses whether or not animals have souls.
http://www.all-creatures.org/murti/tsnhod-08.html
And here is another site.
http://www.thebibleandanimals.org/Ar...andanimals.htm

I would also like to point out that according to the bible in Revelations, there are already horses and birds in heaven. I don't have it in front of me but if you want I can give you the exact passage on it.


A few years ago I remember asking a good friend of my mother's on whether or not she thought dogs went to heaven. She is a wonderful pastor so I trust her word completely.
So she told me a true story. Years ago her daughter became very ill. She was on her way to the hospital in the ambulance when her heart stopped and she died. Luckily they were able to revive her. Her daughter then told her that she saw their dog in heaven. Now the little girl had never seen or even heard about the dog because it died before she was born but the dog was a valued member of the family that they all loved and adored and were heartbroken when she died. The girl described the dog perfectly, even his name. She had never seen any pictures of the dog or really even knew it existed at one time. Yet she was able to describe the dog to a T as the dog was one of them that greeted her in heaven.
So her answer, yes dogs to heaven. God cares very much about all the animals he created and it is mentioned in the bible several times.


In all my heart I truly believe their are animals in heaven and furthermore that I will one day be reunited with my beloved pets that I have lost and there isn't anything anyone can say to convince me otherwise.:animal-pa

I believe God is Love. Period. All that we love, all that has loved us, we will be together forever. It's not the 'thing', it's the love. Love continues after death, it doesn't stop because the body is gone. I think if God made us in his image, it's internal not external. We are suppose to love not only each other but all of His creation. Therefore we love all of life, and that's what will last an eternity - the love. So, to me that means that when I die, everything I loved in life that has gone before me will be waiting. I won't miss life because the love I had while alive will be with me.

do dogs go to Heaven
 

My mother believed that each one's Heaven would be tailor-made for that person, containing all the things that made him/her happy. You can prove anything by a certain verse or passage in the Bible, so quoting the Bible isn't much use. You have to take it as a whole book. And since no one has ever seen Heaven, it's all a question of how you interpret the Bible and how you feel about it. I think a loving God will take all of His creatures back to Him. Animals don't have souls, but they have God-given spirits that will return to the One who made them. I believe that and expect to see all of my loved ones, human and animal, in Heaven.

This is a wonderful discussion...with many viewpoints, and all of them have given me much to think about! I'm so thankful for everyone who has contributed to this discussion. Have a blessed day!

I feel it's everyone's right to believe what they want. I myself do truly believe their little souls go straight to heaven. I couldn't imagine a heaven without them. I believe they'll be all kinds of animals in heaven.

My opinion probably won't be a fav, but since everyone is giving their opinion, I'll give mine.

I love my dogs and have lost a few. I would love to see them in Heaven, but I don't believe I will.

God is love and peace and everything everyone has said. But you have to make a conscious decision to believe, be saved and baptized (not required) to go to Heaven. It is not just a given that all people go to Heaven. It is a lifestyle and effort on our part to go to Heaven. Good works do not get you into Heaven...it is much more than that.

I have been taught and believe that children who can't make the conscious decision b/c of age all do go to heaven.

But, as much as I love my dogs, I don't think I will see them in Heaven.

Sry, please don't take offense, that is just what I have learned and believe. :)

i dont care who goes were i just wanna go where the pets go :D

Amen!

Had to add another thought; Heaven will be created on Earth and the lion will lay down with the lamb. If the lion and the lamb will be there so will our pets, JMO.

JMO...In my heart I KNOW that I will go to heaven and I like to think of all my animals running around in good health and having fun....maybe a "doggie" heaven. Just like the innocent will be there with me, I think the innocent animals will be there too. JMO...but that makes me happy

I think it's interesting to see how many different views there are on this subject and how differently the same passages from the bible can be interpreted.

I agree... I'm more impressed that there have been NO arguments on this... which is great. Everyone's being amzingly respectful which is surprising on a forum this size!

And that is the way it should be.

I once went to a psychic that told me that I had a lot of animals around me. When asked what that means she said they must love me and watch over me. Now I don't want to start any conversations about the validity of psychics but I HAVE owned a bunch of pets in my life.

I just reread my post and I kinda sounded like a know-it-all, I'm so sorry. That was not what I was trying to convey and hope it didn't come across that way. This is a very interesting thread to see everyone's different thoughts.

I didn't see it that way at all, my friend! You even said "this is just my opinion and I hope I haven't offended". You, of all people, would never come across as a know-it-all...at least I don't think so. :D ;) :)

Thanks Wylie's Mom ;)