Theologians consider heaven for pets

Heaven can’t wait for a lot of family pets.

In some households, a dog’s life could be considered paradise on Earth. An indulgent baby-boomer generation has given rise to such institutions as doggie day care, doggie spas and doggie vacations.

Nor does the connection end in this life. Witness the growth in pet cemeteries and sympathy cards for grieving animal owners.

But what about the next life? Do all dogs go to heaven?

Speculation has increased on the afterlife of pets as houses of worship respond to this new devotion by offering more services, such as the blessing of animals.

Several books, Web sites and religious services keep alive the memory of pets and offer hope to owners that death will not separate them from their canine loved ones.

In an animal memorial service at the Cleveland Buddhist Temple, Arlene Rosenberg joined other grieving owners in a ceremony celebrating their pets’ lives. She placed a picture of her pooch, Golda, on the altar and talked about “the tremendous joy, empathy and compassion” the dog brought to her family.

Still fresh in her grief from her pet’s death three weeks earlier, the Jewish woman from University Heights, Ohio, said she found the Buddhist service comforting.

“There’s no doubt in my mind (Golda) has an incredibly beautiful soul,” she said. “I feel very strongly that I will be reunited with her one day.”

Dog owners need the reassurance that they will be reunited with their pets in the next life in much the same way that religious people cope with the death of a loved one with the belief they will meet again in heaven, some observers say.

“It gives more than comfort,” said Mary Buddemeyer-Porter, author of “Will I See Fido in Heaven?” (Eden, 1995). “Until they actually believe their pets are in heaven, they can’t have any comfort.”

Religious speculation on the afterlife of animals is limited. Even a universally admired theologian such as C.S. Lewis, who was fascinated by the topic, worried that he would find himself “in company with all the old maids” for giving it too much attention, according to Stephen H. Webb, professor of religion and philosophy at Wabash College.

However, several trends, including the gradual historical change from animals serving an agricultural society to the modern pet culture, and the growing animal-rights and environmental movements, have created serious interest in the spiritual life — and potential afterlife — of animals.

There are no direct biblical texts on the subject of animal afterlife. Instead, there are several theories as to whether pets, which are not considered capable of making conscious moral choices, can make it into heaven.

Some say cats and dogs are immune from both heaven and hell because they do not have the mental capacity to make choices affecting salvation.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing for us.

“Heaven goes by favor,” wrote author Mark Twain. “If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”

Others say that, precisely because they are sinless, dogs and other animals will be restored in the new creation. They point to the presence of animals in the images of heaven in Revelation.

A third theological stream speculates that some animals will go to heaven and others will not. For example, animals that exhibited viciousness toward other animals or human life may not make it; animals that were caring and gentle in this life could have a place in paradise.

Just as human beings ultimately must wait to find out what the afterlife will be like, so, too, will the fate of pets remain a mystery in this life.

But it is important to talk about the issue, said Webb, author of “On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals” (Oxford, 2001).

“To think about animal resurrection means that these bodies are valued and will be restored; it means that their lives, as well as their deaths, will have to be treated with respect,” Webb wrote.