Do animals go to heaven?

The ever-helpful Aquarius posted this lovely story recently on the Light Beyond bereavement forum:

See for yourself from this true story which one of my friends sent me:

Our fourteen year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after, my four year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to Heaven, God would recognise her. I told her that this was a wonderful idea and could she dictate this letter to me. This is what she wrote:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in Heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love,
Meredith

Together with a picture of Abbey and Meredith we put the letter in an envelope and addressed it to God in Heaven. We put our return address on the envelope and Meredith pasted several stamps onto it, because she thought it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to Heaven. The same afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at our local post office. A few days later, she asked me whether I thought God had received her letter; I told her I thought he had.

Yesterday we found a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch; it was addressed to Meredith in an unfamiliar handwriting. When she opened the parcel it contained a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page we found the picture of Abbey and Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in Heaven. Having the picture was a big help; I recognised Abbey right away. She isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like the memory of her will always stay in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need physical bodies in Heaven, I have no pockets for keeping pictures in, so I am returning it to you in this little book. It is for you to keep so that you have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and send it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. My blessings are always with both of you, the same as with everybody else. Never forget that I love you all very much.

By the way, I am easy to find; wherever there is love that's where you will find me.

With love,
God

Thank you, Aquarius! Visit the bereavement forum here: www.thelightbeyond.com/forum