Do pets have a spirit? Will dogs go to heaven? Will cats, horses, parakeets etc.. be saved?

Not just dogs, but cats, horses and other animals too! Call me silly, but this is something that I think about often. The bible refers to dogs (or dog) 40 times in the bible. Although, throughout the entire old testament, the word dog is never related with anything good, Strong's "Hebrew" concordance translates the word "dog" to relate more to a persons character than to the animal.

Root meaning: "Yelp", to "attack" or a "male prostitute". However, in the new testament, Strong's "Greek" concordance translates the word dog (or dogs) to mean exactly what we perceive it to mean. "A Dog or puppy!" And it is found 9 times in the new testament.

We have two Jack Russell Terriers, Genie and Jake. They are not only a constant source of entertainment and joy, they are members of the family and I love them. The thought of them not waiting for us when we go to heaven is unthinkable to say the least. My wife also has a cat that she is more than fond of. (a painful thought for her also) At least cats are not painted in such a bad light in the bible.

Matter of fact, they are not mentioned at all. At least not common house cats as we know then today. However, the bible does refer to lions 128 times and leopards 8 times. I heard Pat Robertson say one time, that he hopes there are horses in heaven, as he is very fond of them. (he probably owns some)

We have a cockatiel named Cramer, who loves to be petted and is the best watch dog I've ever had. If a car so much as turns around in our driveway, (some distance from the house) Cramer starts screeching! (whistling loudly) That in turn alerts the dogs who go nuts barking. (It's amazing because, He can't see the car, the curtains are closed)

The truth is, one scripture from the bible totally convinced me that their "will" be animals in heaven. (It looks pretty positive)

Revelation 19:11 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

John saw heaven opened up! And what was the first thing he saw? A White Horse! So we can assume, if there are horses in heaven, there are other animals too. To those who would say that he was speaking metaphorically, all I can say is, heaven will be wonderful and God cares about us. We can only trust him that it will work out. This is what  Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 3:19 For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?

This is very interesting! According to Solomon, the wisest man ever to have lived, he acknowledges that pets "have a spirit". The last verse is a question, not a statement! In the King James version, "breath" is translated as "spirit".

Psalms 150:6 - Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Dogs and other pets breath don't they? Who knows? Some day we may actually see our pets praising the Lord.

All I can say is, if Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived didn't know if pets go to heaven, then I don't claim to know either. But I can tell you, it looks pretty good!

The bottom line is, Solomon acknowledged that pets have a spirit. (Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived and his wisdom was given to him by God) Solomon essentially said: no one knows if the spirit of beasts goes downward. Since the spirit lives on after death, it has to go somewhere.

I wouldn't believe for a moment that the spirit of animals would automatically go to hell. (would you?) I think this is all great news for us pet lovers. Personally, I'm planning on seeing them there.

God Bless You

Dan Douglass