When I was a curate, one of my curate colleagues told the story of intervening in a discussion between two people as to whether or not dogs went to heaven. Not being fully sure I think she said that she was sure that there were animals in heaven and left it at that. But it was an interesting question and if you Google the question or look it up on YouTube you will find many a person saying that it is not the case, our dogs do not go to heaven. You may be of a different opinion because no one knows the real answer since we know God thought his creation was good and humanity very good.

I was touched by an article in the Gazette by a regular contributor to the magazine, John Deane-O’Keeffe, a Forensic Criminologist and Diocesan Reader in the Diocese of Dublin.  In it he explores what is described as tail wagging theology. His premise is that, for Christians, our animals mean far more than we could imagine.

Having done some research he identifies that in the Bible, sheep get the most mentions, not surprising given what they represent, innocence and obedience. Lambs come second, then horses, lions, donkeys, oxen, goats, doves and dogs come in at 41 mentions but certainly from a Hebrew point of view they are not highly regarded. Other animals are mentioned and overall, there are around 120 species mentioned.

In reflecting though on the character of a dog from a Christian perspective he notes that dogs are ‘a loop tape of compassion, forgiveness and love in its purest form’ For example, he says, that you can leave your dog out in the rain but when you come to the door it’s the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. In relating further to creation, he maintains that animals are not merely walk on characters in our lives but possibly the other way around. It is God’s creation that is the teacher with everything pointing to the Creator. For him, when the dog looks at you with those ‘innocent, warm, beautiful and forgiving eyes’ we see love, the love of Christ.