Where Do Dogs Go When They Die?

It’s been difficult living in such a quiet house this week. The other night someone rang the doorbell and for the first time in over a decade there was no excited barking warning us that there was a potential killer on our front porch. Same with the several delivery vehicles which have shown up on our cul-de-sac without Lucy’s stage five catastrophe siren. So far, we have survived. 

Each morning I have managed to perform my exercise regimen without Lucy’s judgments. Each afternoon she hasn’t interrupted my writing with her insistence that I pet her. I haven’t had to take her for a walk or let her out for her interminable potty breaks. I haven’t had to listen to her soft snoring. When I wake up in the morning I don’t have to watch where I’m stepping for fear of stumbling over her on the way to the bathroom. None of Pam’s socks have disappeared. We may not have to buy a new jar of peanut butter for weeks.

The kids have texted us asking how we’re doing. It’s the first thing my friends have asked when they see me. My answer is always, “I’m not ok, but I will be.” We are suddenly at war with Iran, we are now being told that eggs aren’t the heart-damaging killer we had been warned about for decades, and Britney Spears has been arrested for DUI. Clearly there are far more serious problems to be concerned about than the loss of a family pet. On the other hand, Lucy never went to war with anyone, she never lied to me, and as far as I know never broke any laws.

I was asked one time by a kid, “Will there be dogs in heaven?” Without spending a lot of time delving into scripture, I answered straight from my heart—“If not dogs…who?” I look at the evidence right in front of my eyes and conclude that dogs are sent to us from God, so naturally when their time on earth is done they return from whence they came, their mission of mercy accomplished.

I stand by my answer.