Jack Wintz - Will I See My Dog in Heaven?

Will I See My Dog in Heaven?

2009 First Printing

Copyright 2009 by Jack Wintz

ISBN 978-1-55725-568-6

Unless otherwise noted all scriptural references are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scriptural references marked NAB 1986 in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scriptural references marked JB are taken from The Jerusalem Bible 1966 by Darton Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday and Company Ltd. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptural references marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wintz, Jack.
Will I see my dog in heaven? : Gods saving love for the whole family of creation / Jack Wintz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.).
ISBN 978-1-55725-568-6
1. AnimalsReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Future lifeChristianity. 3. AnimalsReligious aspectsCatholic Church. 4. Future lifeCatholic Church. I. Title.
BT746.W56 2009
231.7--dc22 2009000259
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by Paraclete Press
Brewster, Massachusetts
www.paracletepress.com

Printed in the United States of America using paper with 30% post-consumer waste. Trees were responsibly harvested following sustainable forestry guidelines. No trees from ancient forests were used in the making of the paper.

for my confrere and longtime friend M URRAY B ODO, OFM

A PPENDIX
Three Prayers of Blessing
for Any Animal, Fish, Bird,
or Other Creature

How do we answer children when they ask, Will I see my dog in heaven? Such a question can become one of the most important in our lives, striking to the heart of a childs faith in both life and God. But Will I see my dog in heaven? is, as I see it, an urgent concern for adults as well. We adults have an equally deep desire to know if we will see our pets again, and all the other lovely creatures alongside whom we now inhabit this planet. What will become of them after they die?

A friend of mine, Anne, told me the following story:

Anne lives in Cincinnati, where a few years ago she faced the important questions of death and eternity for an animal companion as she was present at the death of her dearly loved dog, Miss Daisy. Anne had befriended Miss Daisy some ten years earlier when the dog, of mixed Spaniel origin, was barely one year old. With the help of her adult son, Anne rescued Miss Daisy from Cincinnatis inner city.

I would see Miss Daisy wandering around the neighborhood where I worked at an elementary school, Anne told me. I came to realize that the dog was obviously a stray and lostand she was adorable! I took cans of tuna to the area where Miss Daisy hung out, but she was very afraid of people and wouldnt approach the tuna till she was left alone. My rescue attempts went on for many months.

In time, Anne was successful in winning Miss Daisys confidence and was able to take her to her home on the outskirts of the city.

Miss Daisy was still very shy, Anne told me, but she eventually became a loyal and loving member of our family. Realizing that Miss Daisy needed a companion, I went to the dog pound and came home with a dog named Andy. For ten years or so Miss Daisy and Andy were very happy companions, and both became cherished members of the family. But I became especially attached to Miss Daisy.

Eventually, Miss Daisy became ill, and we had to make the very difficult decision to have her put down. My son and I took Miss Daisy to the veterinarian so he could put her to sleep. We wanted the vet to come out to our car so Miss Daisy would be in familiar surroundings and we could be holding her, but he refused our request. So we had to take Miss Daisy inside. We laid the gravely ill dog on the vets table on her special blanket. We petted Miss Daisy gently and spoke softly to her as the vet got everything ready to give her the injection. Miss Daisy lay there quietly for a few seconds, and then, just before the injection took effect, she lifted her head and looked directly into my eyes. I can still see that look. It was as if she knew what was going on and she was saying good-bye.

Anne recalls how her heart melted, and to this day tears come to her eyes when she remembers that scene.

I still miss the loving pet who had been my dear friend for so many years. I know I will see Miss Daisy again!

Im sure that most of us have your own memories of being profoundly grief-stricken at the death of a beloved pet. These are not childish concerns, but the mature reflections of loving Christians.

Many of us prefer to pose the question Will I see my dog in heaven? in broader spiritual or theological terms. There is more involved in this question than simply wondering if we will ever be reunited with a loved animal companion. For instance, does Gods plan of salvation include only humans, or does it include animals, too? In even broader terms, does God intend the whole created world to be saved?

As a Franciscan friar for over fifty years, I am very familiar with the stories of St. Francis of Assisi and his close relationship with animals, and these stories have informed the way that I view these things. Perhaps youve heard the stories of this brown-robed friar preaching to the birds, releasing Brother Rabbit from a trap, or letting Sister Raven serve as his alarm clock to awaken him for early morning prayer. Ive known for a long time that historians have credited St. Francis with composing one of the first great poems in the Italian languagea poem, or hymn, usually entitled The Canticle of the Creatures. In this hymn, sometimes known as The Canticle of Brother Sun, St. Francis invites all his brother and sister creatures to praise their CreatorBrother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Fire and Sister Water, as well as Sister Earth, our mother, with all her various fruits and vividly colored flowers.

But for years I have pondered the question Why did St. Francis do all of this? Deep down, what intuition inspired St. Francis to call them brother and sister? Some thirty years ago I came to the conclusion, which Ive never abandoned, that Francis came to see that