According to a National Pet Owners Survey, 69 million households own a pet in the U.S. - 63 percent of ALL households. This breaks down to approximately 73 million dogs, 90 million cats, 139 million freshwater fish, 9 million saltwater fish, 16 million birds, 18 million small animals and 11 million reptiles.
We personally own one of the 90 million cats and he is no ordinary pet. Of course, all cat owners say the same thing. So do all dog owners.. Our pets fulfill many niches in our psyches. We are so very attached to our whiskered companion; he is truly one of the family. He is part of our routine and cared for as much as other family members. The positive aspects of being a pet owner are too numerous to list here; the biggest negative is that that their life span is shorter than humans. We feel the empty void when they leave us. Have you ever wondered what happens when a pet dies; and if he or she go to Heaven like humans do?
Why did God make animals? In Genesis 2:19-20, we read: "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to the cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field…" Chronologically, God created the animals before He created Adam… God’s first task to Adam was to name each of the animals. God saw them as individuals and important enough to have them named accordingly.
What does the Bible tell us about God’s relationship with animals? In Genesis : 9: 13-17: "(12) "And God said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations."
In God’s Love for His animals, they are mentioned in many places throughout the Bible: In Matthew 6:26: "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them." God looks after and tends His animals as He tends His children.
Psalm 136:25 tells us …"Who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever." "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God." Luke 12:6. ‘And I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse…" Revelations19:11
The Old Testament makes comparisons between the eventual destiny of humans and animals. Ecclesiastes 3:19 declares, "Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal."
And in Job 12:7-10: "You have only to ask the cattle, for them to instruct you, and the birds of the sky, for them to inform you. The creeping things of earth will give you lessons, and the fish of the sea provide you an explanation: there is not one such creature but will know that the hand of God has arranged things like this! In His hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of every human being!
These Bible verses, our communication with God, show that animals will not be forgotten; I believe they will be there with us in Heaven.
The last book of the Bible - Revelation 5:13 tells us "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, heard I saying, "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever."
"And the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the (Heaven on) earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:6-9
I haven’t read any Scripture that tells us that our particular Fluffy or Fido will be reunited with us, but since we all think our pets are extraordinary, it’s a ‘given’ that we will love and bond with any animals that may be there. What do you think?
