When I was little I would always turn to my mom for biblical advice. Of course of utmost importance was whether or not my pets would go to heaven. She always told me she thought so, because the bible says, “And the Lion shall lay down with the lamb.” Butch and Tayler kind of look like the dog version of a lion and a lamb. Plus Disney made a movie, All Dogs go to Heaven, and Disney never lies.
It turns out the actual verse in the New International Version is from Isaiah 11:6 “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, and the calf and the lion and the yearling together…” I understand that this is more of a picture of the peacefulness of heaven, but I’m happy that it mentions a wolf, because they are so closely related to dogs.
I’m no theologian, but I’m sure this verse doesn’t promise my puppies will go to heaven. If there is a dog heaven, they certainly deserve entry though. They aren’t the most well behaved dogs in the world, but they are full of love. Tayler loves everyone. He is always a willing cuddler for even strangers. Butch is similar. Butch is too big to sit on someone’s lap, but he will come over and rest his head on your leg if you need puppy love or not. 1 Corinthians 14:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
My thoughts about dogs going heaven, made me wonder about bugs. Bugs are animals too. I wonder if they will go to heaven. I can handle most bugs. Spiders, ants, and beetles are fine, as long as the ants stay out of my kitchen. But I don’t think flies should be allowed in heaven. I hope God doesn’t want them in heaven either.
My image of heaven includes my dogs. It also includes my long gone Himalayan, crossed- eyed, cat, Big Bird, along with my recently passed, sweet black cat Daisy. My Border Collie Lady, who died way too soon, would be there as well. My angora rabbit Rosie should go to heaven. My rodents Stinky the mouse and Squiggles the hamster should go to heaven too, except God will have to tell Squiggles she can’t bite me anymore. The turtle Fredericka, who we still don’t know if it was a boy or a girl, will be there. The frog Larry and toad Lawrence both caught at Livermore Lab by my dad, are heaven worthy. All the rollie pollies that I kept in jars under my bed when I was 5 should go too. Their death was my fault, because I didn’t punch enough holes in their little terrariums. There are others pets we had that should get a pass too.
Presently, all I can do is take my dogs on a walk and try not to feed them too many table scraps. My image of heaven could be way off. Maybe the only animal allowed in heaven will be flies. That seems more like a description of hell though. Tonight I will say a prayer for my pups entry into heaven and for long healthy lives. It may be silly, but in my heart, I really think they will be there.
I just watched Where the Wild Things Are and Taylor looks like the goat-like character (minus the horns obviously).
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I'll have to watch that. By the way, your nephew pup spells his name with an "er" not an "or." He wanted to be different.
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