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Do they just "cease to be", with no afterlife? Or does God reserve some special place for them? Do pets have a soul or spirit? Does the Bible say anything about this?
LDS belief is that all life is precious to God and that animals as well as people will be resurrected. We believe that all living things have a spirit. No, an animal spirit is not the same thing as a human spirit, but it is a life force and it is eternal. It cannot be destroyed. I believe your little Annie is at peace now, awaiting the resurrection and that you'll see her again. Her spirit is alive and well at this very moment and someday her little body will be renewed and filled with life again, too.
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I was wondering these things, because today has been a very sad day for us. Our little dog "Annie" had to be put down, because of canine diabetes....her condition became worse and worse, until finally the last 6 days she ate nothing at all, with continual vomiting day and night. She drank water incessantly, often standing over her water bowl for hours. It was so heart-breaking. There is no cure for canine diabetes. (yes, we prayed for her...but that didn't work) Yes, I know: you CAN "treat" this condition, but it is not a cure, it is expensive, and you must continually monitor your pet several times a day, every day...just like a human who has diabetes. And....the pet may lose their appetite entirely...you can't force them to eat...it is very easy to upset the balance of insulin in their system. It was a very hard decision to let her go. My wife and I hope to see "little Annie" again...some day. Annie was such a sweet, loving dog...we miss her already...
What an adorable dog! I am so, so sorry for your loss, Bud. Seriously, I am such an animal lover that every time I have ever lost an animal it has been almost as bad as losing a human loved one. Right now, one of my two dogs has cancer. He's doing well at this time, but who knows how long that will last. It's just terribly hard to see a pet in pain. I know what you're going through, and my prayers are with you.
LDS belief is that all life is precious to God and that animals as well as people will be resurrected. We believe that all living things have a spirit. No, an animal spirit is not the same thing as a human spirit, but it is a life force and it is eternal. It cannot be destroyed. I believe your little Annie is at peace now, awaiting the resurrection and that you'll see her again. Her spirit is alive and well at this very moment and someday her little body will be renewed and filled with life again, too.
I'm not LDS, but Bud, this is what I believe as well. I lost my own precious little "soulmate" of a dog almost 2 years ago. The many things that happened afterwards gave me an unwavering, solid belief in what Katzpur has said above. All life is precious. Would it not give God great joy to reunite a love that has been temporarily separated? Love never ends, Bud. I wish I could reach into my heart and take out this certainty and place it into your heart so you can feel peace and assurance that you will see your beautiful Annie again one day. Lots of love to you and your family.
Keep an open mind and open heart and see what God whispers to you, Bud. Let His peace surround you and your family.
I'm not a believer in the Heaven and Hell routine but sometimes my mind wanders and I imagine that when I finally kick the bucket I'll end up in a place where all the animals I've shared my life with will be all around me. The only drawback is that in these fantasies there's no other human hands around and I'm destined to clean litter boxes, shovel up poop, and feed and water this assortment of animals eternally...
Do they just "cease to be", with no afterlife? Or does God reserve some special place for them? Do pets have a soul or spirit? Does the Bible say anything about this?
I was wondering these things, because today has been a very sad day for us. Our little dog "Annie" had to be put down, because of canine diabetes....her condition became worse and worse, until finally the last 6 days she ate nothing at all, with continual vomiting day and night. She drank water incessantly, often standing over her water bowl for hours. It was so heart-breaking. There is no cure for canine diabetes. (yes, we prayed for her...but that didn't work) Yes, I know: you CAN "treat" this condition, but it is not a cure, it is expensive, and you must continually monitor your pet several times a day, every day...just like a human who has diabetes. And....the pet may lose their appetite entirely...you can't force them to eat...it is very easy to upset the balance of insulin in their system. It was a very hard decision to let her go. My wife and I hope to see "little Annie" again...some day. Annie was such a sweet, loving dog...we miss her already...
Bud
"Annie" 2006-2010
I know how you feel about the loss Bud and I say that All dogs go to heaven!!!
All of you animal lovers may enjoy this story. I thought it was great!
Snippet:
[color=black]A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while they came to a high, white, stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
All of you animal lovers may enjoy this story. I thought it was great!
[color=black]A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while they came to a high, white, stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
I'm not LDS, but Bud, this is what I believe as well. I lost my own precious little "soulmate" of a dog almost 2 years ago. The many things that happened afterwards gave me an unwavering, solid belief in what Katzpur has said above. All life is precious. Would it not give God great joy to reunite a love that has been temporarily separated? Love never ends, Bud. I wish I could reach into my heart and take out this certainty and place it into your heart so you can feel peace and assurance that you will see your beautiful Annie again one day. Lots of love to you and your family.
Keep an open mind and open heart and see what God whispers to you, Bud. Let His peace surround you and your family.
I am really sorry for your loss! What a beautiful and sweet looking dag! It sounds as though she was a good friend to you and you were to her! I do not know what stream of Christianity you ascribe to, but throughout the Bible there are numerouse references for God's love of animals and admonishments that we trat them well - " A righteous man cares for hos beast" proverbs
"let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!" psalms
There are so many more.
I believe in a loving God and I do believe that our companion animals will joim us in the after life.
I further believe that people who have abused God's creatures will account for it in the after life.
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