Will We See Our Pets In Heaven?

I've always been told that animals don't have souls. What is a soul anyway? I suppose it's our eternal, invisible, spiritual being. It's the part of us that lives on after we die. According to most theologians, only humans have souls. And only those with souls have the promise of eternal life - life after death.

It kind of makes sense that only humans have souls, considering God only made man in His image, not animals. 

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

Because of man's sin, Jesus came to die for us, to offer us forgiveness and eternal life, for those who have faith in Christ. I guess animals don't sin....or do they? I've met some pretty nasty dogs and cats over the years. When I was growing up, we definitely had a dog that was filled with a sinful nature. He was just plain mean. I've seen some pretty nasty cats too - mean spirited, selfish, and prideful. 

Maybe some of these types of cats and dogs deserve to be thrown into the lake of burning fire! There certainly cannot be any dogs that bite, or cats that scratch, in Heaven. Does that mean that some dogs and cats will go to Heaven and some will go to hell? Or do they all just die and that's it?

And what about pet snakes? I hate snakes. Surely they are not allowed in Heaven!

What about pet donkeys, horses, and cows? Is there room for them anyway?

And what about the poor, innocent pets? Pets that are innocent based on their sheer stupidity. For example, a fish, or a clam. Of course, who would have a clam for a pet? You never know. 

Dogs, unlike some pets, do have qualities such as loyalty and faithfulness. They do have affection and a desire to please their master. We can learn a lot from dogs. I'm not sure about learning anything from cats, except they do teach us, by example, the importance of sleep, as well as sleeping posture.

But what if, to our delight, we really do see our favorite pets in Heaven when we arrive! What if God, just to prove we don't know it all and to give us a surprise, reunites us with our favorite pets. Ha. That's what I like to think.

Yes, I'm hoping that all pets will be united with their masters in Heaven. 

Or should I say, all the loyal, loving, and friendly pets!