I just finished reading a wonderful manuscript about whether animals are in heaven, which reminded me of pets I have loved over the years. The first dog of my memory was Dusty, a German Shepherd. She lived heart-leashed to my brother (and sometimes to me). My brother loved to explore the neighborhood. One day he ended up in the police dispatchers’ office. Exhausted, he fell asleep. A call went out. “Is anyone missing a little boy who has a German Shepherd?” Dusty had stationed herself in front of my brother, and no one could get close to him because she was in full guard mode. My father, a police officer, heard the call on the radio and took them home.
Later, we had Bullet, named after Roy Rogers’ dog of the same name. Unfortunately, Bullet loved to run wild – sometimes miles from home where he would harass a flock of sheep. Thankfully, he never killed any. Given a choice of “putting him down” or containing him, my parents chose the latter. My dad built a nice railroad tie house with plenty of straw and blanket and drove a heavy iron stake into the ground. Bullet lived out the rest of his life on a long chain. We tried to bring him inside the house, but he wanted to be outdoors. He was our “watch dog”, barking whenever man or beast entered the yard. He also saved my life.
My best childhood friend lived down our country road. I was seven or eight at the time, and after a day of play, I headed home through their vineyard. Their caretaker had a big black dog reputed to be part wolf and vicious. He was usually “contained”, but on this particular day, he got loose and came after me. Screaming, I ran. That dog almost reached me when Bullet hit him, chain dangling. I have never seen a dog fight like that and hope never to see another. My dad was home and came running. Both dogs were about the same size. Bullet took a beating until he got that dog by the neck. He had no intention of letting go until the other was dead, but my dad weighed in and pulled him off. The other dog ran. I still get chills remembering.
I believe there are dogs in heaven – and all the other animals God created along with them. When mankind became so evil God decided to wipe them out, He chose to save one man who believed – Noah – and his family. The Lord told Noah to build the ark and prepare to take care of animals. All kinds of animals, pairs of every species God created. Unlike humans who are prone to disobey God, those animals heeded the Lord’s call and entered the ark, predators and prey alike. Scripture mentions rooms (for food storage, perhaps). It doesn’t mention cages. And I wonder — Did the lion did lie down with the lamb for all those months they floated on the water that covered the earth? Perhaps they lived in harmony the way they had in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve wanted to be (like) God. Perhaps that time in the Ark was a reminder of the way life had been before the fall and what God will bring about again on the New Earth. May it be so.