For many people, pets are family. Pets can be more loyal than many people and at times the affection they give often seems more sincere than love from our fellow humans.
In light of this, some people hope to reunite with their deceased pets in heaven. We hear of human beings attaining salvation, but not cats, dogs, birds and turtles.
Do pets go to heaven? If Fido’s really such a good boy, shouldn’t he enjoy the fruits of eternity? Let’s investigate.
Short answer: We don’t know what happens to animals after death.
God hasn’t revealed the fate of animals to us. It’s reasonable to think there will be animals in heaven. While heaven primarily consists of the vision of God, we will be aware of being united with other people and (possibly) animals.
But will they be resurrected pets from Earth or newly created creatures? Either answer — or both — is a possibility.
Why pets may not go to heaven.
Each group of living things has a different type of soul. There are plant, animal, and human souls. Plant and animal souls aren’t spiritual, meaning they don’t carry out operations that transcend the bodily organs in which they take place. For example, a dog’s experience of eating and sniffing is limited to the organs associated with those two acts.