Losing a pet is not only heartbreaking for children, but adults as well, bringing up a weighty question: Will animals be with us in an afterlife?
Julianne Petersen has been a pet lover all her life, but in her adulthood has wondered about a pet paradise, especially after losing her dog Dillon last year. She raised him from a pup and after nearly 14 years, she lost him to tumors and arthritis. Petersen has heard about religious doctrine concerning heaven for pets, which makes losing Dillon a little easier to take. She hopes Dillon will be waiting for her at the pearly gates.
"To be in heaven without that animal would be really hard," she said. "I would love to see this dog again, pain-free."
After seeing Dillon in so much pain as he grew older, Petersen opted to put him down.
"It wasn't easy," she said. "But for some reason it seemed OK."
What do different religions believe? A pooch paradise or kitty heaven isn't specifically mentioned in scripture, so every religion has its own beliefs.
"We talk about the human spirit returning to God, but where does your dog fit into all that? Especially when he's been your faithful companion and slept at the foot of your bed for so many years? Do we have a pet heaven? No," says Father Patrick Elliott of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. "Catholics, as well as anybody else, have a great love for their pets. While we do believe pets have a lot of spirit, they don't have a soul. The fullness of happiness is to be with God and not with our pet."
Zen Buddhists have no specific belief in an afterlife for pets. Other religions are more definite in their beliefs, but most don't believe in an afterlife for our pets.
"Animals are just gone. We bury them and they're just gone," said Pastor Ron Ehmann of Grace Baptist Church in West Valley. "We think animals have a soul, but they don't have a spirit."
Without that spirit, heaven is off limits to our pets, said Ehmann, adding that when God created humans, they were given a body, soul and spirit with which to return to God. Humans can accept Christ as their Savior, thus giving them a choice between heaven and hell, but with only a body and soul, animals don't get that choice, he said.
Pastor Lloyd Larkin of the Trinity Baptist Church in Riverton has two dogs, but as much as he wants to have them with him in the life hereafter, he realizes it may not happen. But he's still optimistic about the possibility.
"If I could have two animals like that in heaven, then I would be happy," he said.
Larkin says the Bible says animals will remain on Earth even after the millennium, "so there's no indication of them going anywhere," he said. "I'm guessing there very well could be animals in heaven, but not because they were good kitties and good puppies," but because the Earth will be transformed into heaven following the millennium and our pets will already be here.
Lutherans are also optimistic about a pet's final destination.
"We really don't know what happens, but one (scenario) is that we'll be raised when Christ returns, and we'll experience the resurrection with our pets," said Pastor Robert Tyce of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Taylorsville. "The Bible really doesn't say much about it (and) it's kind of an area where we have no way of proving anything. All we know is what we see, and that we put in the grave."
In ancient Egypt, kings were mummified because the people believed it ensured their safety in the afterlife. The practice later included cats and dogs because they were considered sacred, and people wanted the animals with them in the world to come.
The Apostle Paul even told the Romans he believed in a life after death for all creations, says the Rev. Lee Shaw of St. James Episcopal Church in Midvale.
Rabbi Fred Wenger tends to agree. Even though "there is no Jewish tradition with regard to pets," he said, "most western Jews believe that all love comes from God and will return to God." This includes faithful companions like man's best friend."
While other faiths remain cautiously confident, the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a firmer belief in a pet paradise.
Church restorer and prophet Joseph Smith said animals will be found in heaven. According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, "Latter-day Saints believe that animals, like humans, have spirits. Mortal and subject to death, animals will be saved through the Atonement of Christ."
"In heaven there will be no sadness, so God will do anything to make us happy, even if that includes reuniting us with out pets," said Pastor Steve Reinhard of Mountain Vista United Methodist Church in West Jordan. "So if we're going to be happy, then I can't imagine a heaven without our pets."
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