It would be great if we could reunite with our pets in heaven. If so, I would then get to be again with my little buddy, Sylvester The Cat, who looked just like the cartoon Sylvester; what with the black fur, white underbelly and paws.

He was the best of companions, even though he was a man of few words. We played together a lot. I even taught him how to box. He’d lie on his back, and with his paws he’d joust with the light taps of my fists.

Heck, I thought he deserved it, so I even made up a theme song for him. I’d hold him and sing, “Sylvesterrr…the world’s most wonderful, wacky caaaat… Sylvester…yea Sylvester!” He enjoyed it. Through his fixed facial features, I swear I could see a smile when I sang it. I thoroughly enjoyed his company. And I miss the little guy.

Do I think I’ll see him again? The Bible doesn’t say yes or no. What it does say is that animals are made from the dust as we are, and they have the breath of life as we do. Like all that God created, God made them for the same reason that He made us—for His pleasure and glory.

Of course the difference is that God created us in His image, according to His likeness. His purposes for us aren’t the same as for the animals. Not having reasoning powers, animals don’t have the ability to make the moral decisions of right and wrong.

Therefore, since only people can choose to believe in Jesus and repent in order to be saved, animals aren’t included in the plan of salvation. That tends to make me think that our pets won’t be in heaven with us.

However, in heaven, and certainly on the new earth, it seems as though we’ll still have the opportunity to have pets again. In that scenario, the Bible does tell us that creation will be restored as it was in the beginning. Animals will definitely be around.

• Isaiah 11:6, “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.” (This sounds as if we will have pets in heaven, does it not?)
• Isaiah 11:7-9, “The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea”
• Isaiah 65:25, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the LORD.”

So to summarize, maybe our pets of this current earth will be with us in heaven. Maybe they won’t. Since the Bible doesn’t directly speak to this concern, we’ll have to be content with knowing and trusting that in heaven, God will make available all we’ll need for our happiness.