If you type “Do Pets…” into a search engine, the top answer will always be “Do Pets…go to Heaven?”. When we lose our beloved pets there is an almost overwhelming need to know that we will be reunited with them again. It’s a difficult question to answer as different cultures and religions have different philosophies.
The Christian Bible does not contain any reference to pets going to Heaven, and Vicars with whom I have discussed the subject are adamant that it isn’t mentioned in the Bible, so they don’t go to Heaven.
However…
It doesn’t necessarily mean we aren’t going to see our pets again. I’ve written a dissertation on near death experiences (NDEs) and I have read hundreds of accounts where people claim to have died for a short time and have been reunited with their pets.
My subjective view
As a practising Christian, I’m signed up to the philosophy that humans were created in the image of God, and animals were created differently, without a soul, and do not go to Heaven. However, as I mentioned above, I’ve read account after account of people who have “died” for a short while; there has been a common thread where people have described being reunited with their lost pets.
I think there is an animal kingdom. Pets may indeed not go to Heaven but I think, being created by God they return to God, and reside in an afterlife. I believe that, when we pass, we are met by our pets who accompany us to Heaven. The metaphor that springs to mind is that of the City Gates. Heaven exists within the City Gates and our pets accompany us as far as the Gates before returning to their Kingdom.