Do Animals Go to Heaven?

Do animals go to Heaven when they die?  If you’ve ever grieved the loss of a pet, you, like I, certainly hope so!  For me, it’s one of the only things that has gotten me through the pain of losing a pet; knowing they’re in a better place and that I’ll see them again one day.  But do animals really go to Heaven?

In this post, we’ll discuss:

• • Do animals go to Heaven?
  • Proof that animals go to Heaven
  • Biblical proof animals do go to Heaven
  • Do pets go to Heaven?
  • Do dogs go to Heaven?
  • Do cats go to Heaven?
  • Will we see our pets in Heaven?
  • Will there be animals in Heaven?
  • Do animals have an afterlife? (I happen to know they do)
  • What if I’m wrong?
  • My personal and very weird experiences regarding pets and the afterlife

By the way, if you’ve come to this post because you’re struggling with the recent loss of a pet, you’ll find two videos that will help at the end of this post.

Do Animals Go to Heaven?

Proof That Animals Go to Heaven

The existence of Heaven, as well as whether animals go to Heaven, are both based on faith and religious beliefs.  Many people choose to believe their pets go to Heaven as a way to comfort themselves after losing a pet.

We do the same when we lose a loved one.  We have to believe, don’t we?  How else would we cope with the loss?

I personally believe that there is just too much evidence proving the existing of Heaven and an afterlife that it can’t possibly be dismissed as fiction.  I’m a person who makes decisions based on likelihood.

Is it likely that Heaven exists and we, and our pets go there?  I belive it’s more likely than not.

Mediums and Near Death Experiences

I believe in mediums and I also believe in near death experiences.

Famous medium, James Van Praagh, the medium that TV show, Ghost Whisperer was based on, has a great video where he explains that animals have souls and do, in fact, exist in the afterlife just as humans do.  Watch his video here.

I read his book, Talking to Heaven: a Medium’s Message of Life After Death when my mother passed away several years ago.  It helped me immensely.

I also read a book by Sylvia Browne called, All Pets Go to Heaven.  I always recommend this book to anyone who has lost a pet.

And there are literally thousands of people, from all over the world and from every walk of life, that have described seeing their pets and other animals during a near death experience.  It’s just not likely that all these people are lying!

Watch these videos to hear some of their accounts:

Man Shocked By What He Saw His Pets Doing in Heaven (near death experience).

When I Died, My Pets Were Waiting for Me (near death experience compilation).

Biblical Proof Animals Do Go to Heaven

There are several scriptures in the Bible that address whether animals go to Heaven.

Revelation 5:13 “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, hear I saying, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever.”

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.”

Many more scriptures proving that animals go to Heaven are listed in this article, 60 Bible Verses That Prove Animals Go To Heaven.

You can hear about more Bible scriptures that prove animals go to Heaven in this video, 5 Bible Verses That Prove Animals Do Go to Heaven.

Do Pets Go to Heaven?

Many people find comfort in believing their pets go to Heaven when they die, not because of any religious doctrine, but instead, based on the profound love they feel toward their pets and the hope that they’ll see their pets again.

Many people have reported spiritual experiences, visions and dreams that make them confident they’ll see their pets in Heaven when they die.

Do Dogs Go to Heaven?

Even if you don’t interpret certain religious doctrines to explicitly state that dogs go to Heaven when they die, the strong emotional bonds people form with their dogs make them believe that a loving and compassionate God would certainly allow dogs to experience the eternal peace and joy of Heaven, just as their owners do.

You may have heard of or seen the children’s movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven.  In the movie, a dog angel named Charlie sneaks back to earth from Heaven and ends up befriending an orphan girl who can speak to animals.

It’s cute.  You can purchase the dvd on Amazon here.

Children’s Books About Pet Loss

By the way, if you’re researching this topic because you have a child whose pet has died, you should know that many books have been written for children regarding whether pets go to Heaven.

Perhaps you would find these helpful to explain pet loss to a child.

You can find several on Amazon here.

Do Cats Go to Heaven?

Like with dogs, the answer depends on a person’s religious beliefs and personal interpretations of everything they’ve been taught either by people or by whatever religion they practice.

According to an article from Cats.com called, Do Cats Have Souls?, cats, and all other animals, are living beings with the ability to make decisions based on reason.

Therefore, we can assume that a soul and spirit exists in cats just as it does in humans.

Their article also discusses what 5 different religious say about whether cats go to Heaven.

Will We See Our Pets in Heaven?

Not only do I believe we’ll most certainly be reunited with our pets in Heaven, but I also believe that once they pass, they can be around us in spirit at will.

Several years ago, I visited a place called, Lilydale, the world’s largest spiritual community.  It is located in Western New York and is home to more than 50 professional, registered mediums.

I initially visited specifically to receive a reading by a medium in hopes of getting help coping with my mother’s death.  It was well worth it.  I saw a grief counselor for many weeks after my mother’s passing.

Not to critisize that counselor, but I’m telling you I got more healing from 30 minutes with that medium than I did with all that counseling.

I’m just sayin’.

Anyway, I’ve visited Lilydale two or three times since.  One of the times I spent the day there, I attended a lecture in their auditorium by a medium.  During the  lecture, the medium recognized a handful of people in the audience and delivered whatever message she felt she was receiving from those in spirit who wanted to communicate.

She called on me!  At first I didn’t realize it.  She pointed to me and I looked behind me lol!  She said, “You, in the yellow shirt.”  That’s when I was shocked to realize she was talking to me!  I was wearing the same yellow shirt you’ll see in my picture at the end of this post.

She said, “Never in all my years have I seen a person surrounded by so many dogs!  They’re prancing in circles all around you, wagging their tails.  They’re trying to tell you not to be so serious all the time.  They want you to wag your tail!”

Being a profound lover of dogs and having owned several in my life, I can’t say I was surprised that I’d be surrounded by dogs in spirit.  But it certainly makes me believe that our pets live on in the afterlife, and we’ll see them in Heaven!

By the way, I’ve often thought since so much of my time in life has been devoted to animals, that it’ll likely be difficult for my mother and father and other previously deceased loved ones to greet me when I arrive in Heaven.

I fully expect to be greeted by hundreds of dogs, cats, every animal I’ve ever loved, helped or prayed for, even every spider I’ve rescued from the tub!  My love and compassion for animals has been an enormous part of my life.

Will There Be Animals in Heaven?

My answer is yes.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t be Heaven.  Not for me, and not for any other animal lovers.

I personally have always felt that all animals are precious gifts from God.   I believe that God entrusts us with their care for the short time they’re on this earth.

Whenever I get frustrated that our pets don’t live more than 10 to 20 years at most, I reason that God doesn’t see any reason for them to stay longer.

Animals, unlike humans, have nothing to learn here.  They’re already love.  All love.

I believe that God “lends them to us” to make coping with our difficult experiences as humans easier.

And it works.

Do Animals Have an Afterlife?

We’ve all either experienced or heard of lost loved ones making some sort of contact with us from the afterlife.  But can pets do the same?

I happen to know they do.

You may think I’m crazy when I tell you this story, and I admit maybe I was.

In 2016 my beloved Dachshund, Taz (that’s her in the picture) passed away after a long illness.  I adopted Taz from a shelter six and a half years earlier.  She already had the grey face when I got her, but I don’t know exactly how old she was when she passed.

That particular time in my life was excruciatingly difficult.  Many bad things were happening and I was on the brink of falling apart most of the time.  So when Tazzie died, I was beside myself with grief and unable to cope with the loss.

Seriously.  I’m kind of embarrased to tell you that I was delusional for a short time after her passing.  I was actually convinced that it wasn’t true.  That it didn’t happen.  That she’d return to me somehow.

I experienced similar thoughts when my mother passed, so perhaps it’s a normal reaction to intense grief?  Or maybe I was actually crazy.  Doesn’t matter to me either way.

Anyway, about two weeks after Taz’s passing, I remained devastated.  One afternoon I couldn’t cope, so I went to bed.  By the grace of God I was able to fall asleep.  The nap definitely helped.

But here’s the thing.  As I was waking up from the nap, when I was in that weird mindset of awake, but not awake, I swear I heard Taz communicating with me.  I know it sounds stupid.  Just stay with me here.

She was trying to comfort me.  She seemed confused as to why I was experiencing such intense sadness.

She “said,” for lack of a better word, something like, “Why are you so sad?  You knew this would happen.  And you knew it would happen at this time.  You knew we would come together, and that we’d spend a certain amount of time together, and then I’d go.  Remember?  We planned this.”

I can’t explain it and I honestly don’t care whether it was real or just my imagination.  But seriously, can you imagine how comforted I was by that?

For me, it confirmed all I’d learned about death, dying, the afterlife and Heaven in all the books I read after my mother’s passing.  We are spiritual beings having a human experience.  We do so in order to experience for and through God.  We plan our life, choose the people who will be in our life, choose our difficulties to overcome.  And we also choose how long we’ll stay.

To me, this explains why Tazzie seemed confused.  “Don’t you remember?  We planned this!” she said.

Again, call me crazy if you wish.  I’m risking that for the sake of helping anyone reading this who’s had difficulty coping with the loss of a pet.

Many others have experienced signs from pets in the afterlife.  You can read about many of them in this post from ComfortConntects.com, Afterlife Signs from Your Pet.

Roberta Grimes

According to Roberta Grimes, author and afterlife expert, “A heaven without our animal friends would not be a heaven at all, so I’m delighted to report to you that every animal we ever have loved awaits us in a beautiful eternal reality where love never ends.” 

Roberta Grimes is an internationally recognized expert on death and the afterlife.  Read more in her post, Pets in the Afterlife.

What If I’m Wrong?

I personally believe that all animals,, not just our pets, go to Heaven.

But what if I’m wrong?

My best answer is this:  I have been listening to Joyce Meyer for years.  She’s one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers, a New York Times bestselling author, and her (more than 100!) books have helped millions of people.

Anyway, I remember her talking once during one of her TV programs about people who argue with her and say they don’t believe God exists.  They don’t believe in Heaven and hell, and they don’t think anything they do or don’t do during their lives will affect them in any way when they die.

Her answer to them is something like, “Maybe you’re right and none of this is true at all and none of it matters afterall.  But what if I’m right? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather believe and live my life according to God’s word than not believe and find out God really does exist and be in big trouble when I arrive at Heaven’s door!”

I would rather receive the comfort I get in believing my pets go to Heaven when they die and that I’ll see them again when it’s my time to go, than not believe and add to my misery in their loss.  Seriously, what does it hurt?  I say believe.  Believe!

That’s me with my dogs, Tazzie (the weiner dog) and Cagney (the Boston Terrier) in the picture.  Cagney was madly in love with Taz!  Unfortunately for him, she didn’t quite feel the same 🙁

Dealing With Grief Over the Loss of a Pet

If you’re visiting this post because you’ve recently suffered the loss of a pet, watch my video with tips on coping and healing.

I also have a video called, What to Say When Someone Loses a Pet, and another called, Your Pet’s Death is Not Your Fault.  I hope these help!

Rainbow Bridge Pet Loss Poem

Many people have found a poem called, The Rainbow Bridge particularly helpful in coping with pet loss.

You can request a printable copy below for yourself, or to share with others who have lost a pet.

My vet’s office sent me a sympathy card when my cat of 20 years (yes 20 years!) passed away.  They all signed the card, and in it was this poem.  It remains the best help I’ve ever received in coping with pet loss!  I hope it’ll do the same for you.

I Donate to Animal Charities

Thank you for visiting my website. Whatever the reason you came to this post, I hope it has brought you comfort.

I donate 10% of my earnings from this website and from my YouTube channel to animal charities.  You can see a list of the charities I donate to here. 

If you like this website, please share it with your friends who have a dog or a cat.  Thank you!  Debra

For More About Pets, CLICK HERE