Do Pets Go to Heaven?

Sooner or later, any discussion of pet loss comes around to this question. You may have asked it yourself -- or, perhaps, you may have wondered how to answer when your child asks it of you. Lengthy articles have been written on both sides of the argument. A recent ABC News poll showed that 47% of pet owners believed the answer was yes (35% said "no").
Christians tend to find this question particularly difficult, because they prefer to base "answers" to any spiritual question on the authority of the Bible. Consequently, most discussions of this question turn into scripture-slinging contests, addressing the issue of whether animals have "souls," can be "redeemed," etc. The problem is, scripture does not offer a definitive answer to this issue.

There is a reason for this; it's not simply God's perverse decision to leave thousands of pet owners in the dark. The reason is that the Bible is about human redemption; it's an instruction manual about the choices humans must make. If pets go to heaven, however, it isn't due to anything you or I do to "get" them there -- so perhaps it is no surprise that the Bible contains no "instructions" on the matter.

Silence does not mean a negative answer, however. The Bible is silent on a great many things, leaving us with a number of questions that we must explore and resolve using the hearts and minds that God gave us -- seeking an answer that is rooted, not in theology and doctrine, but in logic and love.