Where is my Dog "HEIDI" ?

This may be a different kind of post, but I have often wondered about this subject.Heidi was a beautiful, loving, playful Golden Lab. Since she was always wanting to play ball, she ended up running out to the road one day and got killed! I was heartbroken as I loved her so much. She was only 1 1/2 years old.A former Pastor of mine had briefly spoke on thissubject. He said "Animals, unlike people, have NOT got a "cliche" or "SOUL" therefore, when they're dead, they're dead!"Now I have just finished reading a book with a chapter about "Heaven", and it states that there are animals there playing with the children!The Bible states that "ALL God's Creation will join God's children in Heaven at the end" (I haven't found the verse to back this up yet!)So do you think that God created special animals there to play with the children, or, animals have gone there at death, or, God will have them rise at the ressurection? Any Idea?Curious Carly :-D

Hi Carly,Not sure about that former Pastor since you did insert the word 'briefly', but find it hard to be dogmatic about things that are not spelled out clearly in scripture.Am truly sorry about Heidi. Golden Lab's are wonderful dogs, had a mixed breed at one point, a real loving goofball.I love animals and always had pets growing up. So much we can learn from them, the personalities and sacrificial love they can give. I would only appeal to Gods nature and this always comes to mind;"And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." 2Sa 12:1-6 Knowing that this was illustrated to David because of his sin with Bathsheba the illustration in itself is revealing. Why the outrage if "when they're dead, they're dead!" ? Why would the Lord give us a natural affinity towards even having pets as this lamb was to this poor man and his family?We know that the lion will lie down with the lamb in the end and I don't see why it could not be this poor mans lamb, or Heidi or Heidi's Moabite cousin, dog Dokken ;-) hanging around.Of course this doesn't 'prove' anything. But I just have a hunch and would lean more toward God's goodness and character, to quote Joni Erickson Tada, "Wouldn't it be just like God?"

This is probably just wishful thinking on my part, but I'd like to believe that Pal, the world's dumbest dog that I grew up with, would be waiting to meet me on the other side. There is no Bible verse that I know of that would confirm it -- the best I can gleen from Scripture is an allusion if I stretch the words enough. In the whole scheme of creation, salvation and resurection, the question of animals going to Heaven is pretty low on the list of priorities. But... Wouldn't to be nice if it were so. Maybe God is planning to suprise us with even more icing on the cake.

As much as scripture reveals to us, the heavenly realm is all spiritual and spirits can only exist there. Angels are spirits, God is a spirit, and when we meet Jesus in the air we will be given a spiritual body like the angels. As far as my scriptural knoweldge goes I don't recall any animals in heaven.Thinking also about the New Earth, actually more so.when we come into the presence of God I think all things will become manifest and in porportion!Yes!, we creatures love to speculate don't we...

Moabite cousin, I love that! :-P If our dearly departed red Doberman Raja is waiting, I'll need a large towel to wipe all the slobber of my face. And the tears...Wait! I forgot, there will be no more tears... ;-)

:-)One correction, think I meant to say "unconditional" as opposed to "sacraficial", then again they do put up with us :-)