Animals in Heaven

When I was a practicing veterinarian, people sometimes asked me if they would see their pet in heaven. Not knowing their spiritual or religious background, I was often somewhat vague, saying something like, “I think we can trust that God will do the right thing.”

The death of a pet is hard and it is often unacknowledged or minimized. This story from USA Today captures the grief may people experience.

From the article, Charles Trepany writes:

“The hardest part about grieving Gigi was the spiritual doubt that followed.In my grief-stricken mind, I couldn’t help but wonder: Would I ever see Gigi again? Human death, at least, offered the possibility of heaven. But what about my dog? What about my sweet, little dog?”

As someone with both veterinary and theology training, yes I believe that our pets (and other animals) will be present in the kingdom of God.

God loves and cares for all that they have created. From the creation story in Genesis where everything in the world is proclaimed “good” by God until the final chapters of Revelation, scripture is full of examples of God caring for the earth and its living creatures. God expects us to care for them as well. In Torah, there are multiple places where the humane treatment of animals is commanded. For example animals are to rest on the Sabbath along with people¹. Animals are to be cared for. “You shall not see your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen on the road and ignore it; you shall help to lift it up”².

The book of Job has some wonderful imagery of God’s delight in animals. Chapters 39-40 ³ are a grand and expansive recitation of God’s involvement and care for animals. The ending of the book of Jonah has God saying, “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals? “⁴

The Psalms also speak about God’s interest and care for animals and the rest of creation. Psalm 104⁵ is one example. Psalm 36 has the remarkable verse, “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.”

The New Testament also has references to God’s care for animals. Jesus refers to the responsibility humans have to rescue an animal if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath.⁶ In Matthew, Jesus talks about how not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from God.⁷ In John, we are told, a good shepherd lays down their life for their sheep.⁸

In many of these examples, animals are used as an example or as a comparison to humans. Animals are not the primary focus of scripture, so we don’t have direct statements. The Bible’s focus on humans doesn’t invalidate the statements about animals. Of course none of these verses speak specifically about whether animals will be present in the life to come.

Part of our confusion about the presence of animals in heaven is our confusion about what heaven is. This is a much larger topic that I can address here. But briefly, in the ancient world heaven was not where people went when they died. Heaven was where God (or the gods) lived. That’s why we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When God’s kingdom comes, heaven and earth will be rejoined, reconnected, renewed, reborn.

In the book of Isaiah, the coming of the Messiah, the coming of God’s kingdom, is described with this language.⁹

The wolf shall live with the lamb;
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed^[b] together,
    and a little child shall lead them.
 The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
    and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

Paul reminds us in Romans chapter 8¹⁰ that the entire creation “waits with eager longing…in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

The last chapters of Revelation also talk about this reconnecting of heaven and earth- a new heaven and a new earth¹¹. While the author of Revelation struggles to find language majestic enough to describe this new creation, their vision includes nature.¹²

The kingdom of God, heaven, will not be some disembodied otherworldly existence. The Bible from start to finish describes life in the kingdom of God as embodied, with people, plants and animals. This is why the resurrection of the dead is a central belief for Christians. Our bodies matter, and other bodies also matter. All of creation matters. God is love and God loves what God has created. Our beloved pets are also beloved by God.

1. Exodus 20:8-11 is one time. There are others. ↩︎
2. Deut 22:4, Exodus 23:5 specifically says even if it the the animal of your enemy, you must help the anima.. ↩︎
3. Job 39-40 ↩︎
4. Jonah 4:11 ↩︎
5. Psalm 104 ↩︎
6. Matt 12:11 and Luke 14:5 ↩︎
7. Matt 10:29 ↩︎
8. John 10:11ff ↩︎
9. Isaiah 11 and also Isa ↩︎
10. Romans 8:18 ff ↩︎
11. Rev 21:1-5 ↩︎
12. Rev 22:1-4 ↩︎