I know there is an afterlife & My Kitty stays connected to me. For too many things happen to show me, even your post here today. Today is one of those terrible grieving days that come every-so-often. My Kitty passed 8/16/11 & tomorrow is 9 months. So I was just listening to the CD, " Connecting With Your Animal After Death." A guided meditation to communicate telepathically. Crying, I prayed when I passed over, we would meet again. My Kitty was with me for 23 years. She was my "Fur *PERSON." And a talker! :) The vet said she never saw such a bond. I know she is still with me, caring, guiding. So these were my thoughts & feelings when I just now came to my computer and saw your post at the top of my email, #1. Another, "No Coincidence." Thank you Dr. Coates <3

I can tell you that in this article, the question is addressed by clergy from three major religions: Christianity, Islam & Judaism... "Do All Dogs (& Cats) go to Heaven?" An interesting take from those who are in the know... http://www.pawprintsthemagazine.com/?p=14287

Thank you for the link and a very well-written, well-researched article. I added it as an important link on my blog.

I address this issue in my memoir, Meet Me at the Rainbow Bridge, a celebration of the dogs who have shared my life. My receptionist, Crystal, was very concerned because many Christians do not believe that pets have souls. She asked her pastor who gave the best answer that I have ever heard. He simply told her that in Heaven, we have everything that we want, so if she wanted her deceased dog to be there, he will be there. This ends the debate! Kenneth Newman,DVM

I have read this so many times over the years, and it still brings the tears. Just a beautiful expression of what all animal lovers are dreaming that heaven will be like.
I am going to send this poem to the actress Ashley Judd, if you haven't heard of the abused dog Walter she tried to save in the past couple weeks, you should read her twitter page and also here is the newspaper story http://www.wkrn.com/story/18032182/neglected-dog-thrown-from-moving-car
if you really want to be touched by someone's love for animals. She slept on the floor of a vet clinic for days and chewed Walter's food (chicken) to make it soft before feeding him, he was loved by thousands who heard his story. With the abuse he suffered, he is waiting at the rainbow bridge for thousands of us, that poem helps me deal with his suffering.

I had My Kitty cremated and went to the cremation. There was a photo of Ashley Judd on the wall. I asked about it. She too brought her pet to be cremated at the same place (MA) and went to the cremation. The manager of the crematorium praised her so much for her love of animals and what a beautiful person she is, inside, and of course, out. I saw My Kitty before the cremation. It was beautiful. Just like an undertaker, they had combed her fur and laid her on a blanket for me to say, "Goodbye." she looked like she was sleeping. I brought a real pink rose and a locket with my hair in it. I could not watch the actual cremation. I tried, but it was too much for me. I waited and took My Kitty home in a white box that said, "Forget me Not."

"Do you think animals go to heaven?"

You have come up with a good reply to the question because it's a question of personal beliefs and one that invokes strong opinions.

"Rainbow Bridge" has gotten me, and a lot of my friends and acquaintances through a lot of tough times. I think you handled this subject beautifully (right on!). And I can tell you that there will be plenty of animals in my heaven, especially those who own pieces of my heart.

This quote from Will Rogers sums it up (although I'd add cats to it).
"
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

This is also a great quote by Mark Twain.

"Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in."

Heaven just wouldn't be heaven without my creatures.

I don't know that I believe in Heaven, but I know that dogs have souls and that their soul survives after death. My little beagle mix, Joe, came back after she passed. My husband and I both heard her at the door, so he let her in. Honey, my big Dobie was in Joe's chair and shot out of it like her butt was on fire - the way she always did when Joe came in and found her sitting in it. The other dogs reacted to her presence for most of the evening and Honey stayed out of the chair. I was sad that I could not hear or see her, but I told her how much she was loved and would be missed. When I came downstairs in the morning, she was gone. Honey was now the owner of the recliner as if Joe had bequeathed it to her.

Joe showed me that there is something on the other side and that my friends do not merely cease to exist. I hope to see them again when I pass. :)

Your best line ever:

"Some of the best "people" I’ve met have been dogs, cats, horses, and other nonhuman animals"

When it comes to belief in a paternalistic God (theism) I am an atheist, but as for afterlife, the possibility of a soul, the possibility of something after death, I am agnostic. I certainly hope there is. And if there is not, at least my last thought will be of my beloved pets and in that sense, they will accompany me into eternity.

I really suspect (hope?) that my dearest departed cat controls radio DJs; he sends me the Talking Heads. Just to say "Hi" and let me know he's there. LOL. If he does that, then he's definitely still around.

(When he was little, "Psycho Killer" was his theme song, except I changed the lyrics to "Psycho Kitty." So the summer after he passed I was missing him really hard, got in my car, and BAM, immediately it plays. Coincidence? . . . . )

Dr. Coates, thank you for this post. I generally think of myself as fairly unsentimental but I found myself deeply affected by the rainbow bridge. I am providing end of life care for my 15 y/o cat and have been doing much anticipatory grieving over the past few months. After he is gone I shall of course adopt another rescue cat, but this one, along with several others from the past, will have a unique place in my heart, always. Those familiar with Nordic Myths will recognize the Rainbow Bridge as the entrance to Valhalla, and I am a music lover and a devotee of Wagner's Ring Cycle; this makes me think of the final scene of Das Rheingold. It also reminds me of a very special Robin Williams film called What Dreams May Come. I recommend it. Life does, and must, go on. Our animal friends may teach us many things. Mine have, but one of these things is the care of other creatures. Most people know of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but fewer know the ending, that Orpheus, whose music charmed the wild beasts, wandered for several years in grief, unable to let go of his loss, and for this was brutally torn to pieces by the Harpies.

I hope we all meet again, but we nevertheless live on, as you so beautifully said, in the effects we had upon others.

I absolutely join you in recommending "What Dreams May Come." It is one of three movies that comfort me while dealing emotionally with loss of a loved one (the other two being "Harold and Maude" and "Phenomena" [now frequently on cable and starring John Travolta])

For anyone grieving a pet, I highly recommend the illustrated books "Dog Heaven" and "Cat Heaven" by Cynthia Rylant. Short, sweet, and comforting words and artwork. I bought the latter after my beloved Felix died, and it brought a tear to my eye and a smile to my face. Awesome books. I agree...if there's no animals in heaven, then I want to go where they are!

Love those books too; it's amazing how they help get you through the pain of initial loss.

Dr. Coates, your response to the question about our pets and the afterlife is inclusive, thoughtful and full of truth. The spirit of a loved one does resonate like a beautiful chord, resounding in us forever. I also appreciated the image of ripples, so that the lives of our animal companions carry beauty and love not just to us, but to those we meet, creating a heaven on earth, too. Thank you! www.animalcarerev.com

I've had many pets over my lifetime and very fortunately have been able to hold and console almost everyone as they shed this mortal coil. If ever there were a time pets needs you to dold them, it's as they die.

This old poem inspires me to always whisper to my pet to "walk slowly. I'm not far behind:"

Walk Slowly
by Adelaide Love

If you should go before me, dear, walk slowly
Down the ways of death, well-worn and wide,
For I would want to overtake you quickly
And seek the journey’s ending by your side.

I would be so forlorn not to descry you
Down some shining highroad when I came,
Walk slowly, dear, and often look behind you
And pause to hear if someone calls your name.

If there were not animals in heaven then God would not have told Noa to take the animals two by two. And with the way they love us while they are here --this is the closest that you will get to heaven while you are here on earth.

May I also point out the Rescuer's Rainbow Bridge poem,
http://www.hbprr.org/Rescuer%27sRainbowBridge.htm
equally ( and of course even more beautiful for us rescuers to imagine) this picture in my head has become the only Heaven I am able to look forward to with a feeling of coming joy.
I just imagine those wonderful felines whom I have helped, and fought against the odds for their lives, but in the end were unable to save, waiting for me, beneath that tree in the meadow, to lead them across into Heaven. Through the gates to join those beloved pets of mine already waiting beyond, well it still brings tears to my eyes anytime I think of them there, and how wonderful such a place exists even if only in my heart,It is a vision that carries me through these uncertain and unsettling times. What a beautiful crowd awaits me!

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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”

Love never dies...What is bound on this Earth, will BE bound in Heaven...AMEN

On the drive home from the hospital after my Dad died I suddenly just knew he was with his buddy, Tristan, his beloved Shia Tsu. He was so close to that little dog, they were inseparable until his "little mop dog" got cancer and had to be put down at 11 years old.

I wasn't familiar with the poem then, we adopted our puppy two days after Dad's funeral. I just imagined little Tristan being there for him and snorting to be picked up.