Pets in Glory???

I try to keep a proper perspective when it comes to animals under my care. Thankfully, as a youngster, my parents allowed my brother and I the experience of having various pets to both enjoy and eventually learn the life lesson of death. My first pets (besides Mercy and Molly, our family cats) were 2 goldfish I named Peggy and Greg. I can't recall how long they held out but I do remember finding one, then the other, floating atop the fishbowl and knowing what that meant. There were my 2 gerbils, Cookie and Cupcake, who got along well...too well, in fact, and kept multiplying until we realized they were male and female. I think I ended up with about 30 gerbils in 3 fish tanks until we understood what was going on. I kept 2 of the offspring (Deenie and Tear) and enjoyed them for a season...

Nicholas, my fist lop bunny came next...I didn't know the first thing about caring for a bunny and foolishly allowed him to feast on grass. One morning I checked on him on the way to school (his hutch was outside) and he looked upset, sad, and his feet were wet. When I came home, my dad left me a note stating simply: "Jennifer, Nicholas died. This sometimes happens to young rabbits. I left him in his cage so you could bury him as you saw fit. I love you. Pop." Nicholas was the first pet I recall shedding tears over, perhaps because he was a bunny and up the chain on the responsibility level...and I had failed. He'd died within a week of my care (had, in fact, pooped himself to death--urgh! What a way to go!) I put him in a Ziplock bag full of buttercups and buried him in the backyard...and cried.

Benjamen Bunny replaced him...and he lasted for years (although more under my dad's care than mine since I was away at college). I had a beta fish named Jonah who lasted several semesters until our electric went out during an ice storm and he froze to death in his bowl. Our family cats, Mercy and Molly hung in for years, until I was married and out of the house. Still, Mom called me (at work!?) when they each died so I could say goodbye over the phone to them (yes--picture that--phone being held up to a dead cat's ear and a grown woman saying goodbye on the other end). I shed tears for both of them and the happiness they gave over the years.

Pictured up top is Chloe. When I moved out of my parents house 4 months before I was to be married and into my own apartment, I lasted about 1 week being alone before I started itching for cats. Buddy and Chloe joined me and became our "fur kids" (ooo! Before we were properly married! Scandal!) Chloe died quite suddenly at age 12 of liver failure a few years ago. We were both heartbroken...and quickly filled the empty space she left with "the misses", Rose and Sylvia.

Although I have always tried to keep proper perspective when it comes to pets (they are animals, not people) I still marvel when their individual personalities surface. Like now, sitting here typing this, Sylvia has brought me this jumbled up wreck of green yarn we call her mouse so I can throw it and she can chase it. We do this every morning. She thinks in her own little mind,"Let me get my mouse so Mommy will throw it!" Or when I'm upset, Buddy will sense this and just sit by me and "be". Or if Mark and I leave the house together, Marni (our dog) knows there's a possibility of a doggie bag returning with a treat for her so upon our return, she barks and jumps and twirls around in anticipation, before we even open the front door.

Do animals have souls? Spirits? Will there be a host of furry friends waiting for us in glory? I'd like to think so...I am currently reading through Psalms and came across this passage today:

"All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.

When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

When you hide your face, they are terrified;

when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.

When you send your Spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground."

In the context of the Psalm, it speaks of all God's creatures--wild, air, ocean, etc. and how He cares for them. The "When you send Your Spirit..." jumped out at me. I know that God orders human life and breathes His spirit into us...but "they" here is in reference to ALL God's creatures. So...God purposed to create our pets...? Right? Doesn't God "purpose" to create all things?

I'm sure there are arguments on many sides about whether animals make it to heaven...whether they have a "soul" or a "spirit"...and I realize that in the context of this verse, it isn't talking about domesticated animals (so perhaps the ox and Leviathan have spirits as well!) Still, I'd like to believe that there is "spirit" in all of God's creation (read Psalm 104!), especially those furry friends we get to enjoy and care for.