Do dogs go to heaven?  My lab of eleven years recently passed away from cancer and this is important to me.  Is there not a passage about how God created the dog to be a companion to man?

Answer
 
I know your affection for your dog was sincere and for that you can thank the Creator.  However, no animal of any kind is eternal.  The only created creatures that are eternal, are angels and men and women.  Dogs simply become dust in the universe.  They were given for man's enjoyment and service.  Other animals like cows, pigs, etc. were given specifically for food for mankind, and they too simply become dust, with no eternal life.  In fact, as you go through the creation account, it is all rather impersonal, "let there be light, let there be green plants, let the land produce living creatures, etc.," however, when God comes to create man, it all changes, and God says, "Let us create man in our image....."  Men and women are like no other creature on earth, we have eternal souls and are designed to have a relationship with the living God.  Animals do not have a relationship to God, they have no means of communication to God, they are much like plants, in that they only serve a function and then die.
 
Now, don't think that I don't love animals.  We have two dogs, and I enjoy them greatly, however, they cease to exist upon death. 
 
I don't know of the passage you refer to, but dogs obviously were created for man, however, when God said it was not good for man to be alone, there were dogs on the earth.  But God knew that man needed someone to have a relationship with, he needed another human, and in Adam's case it was Eve.  Dogs can be man's friends, but to a very limited extent, but real relationships take a lot of communication (verbal), and animals were never designed for that--God wants humans in relationship with other humans.
 
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Tony Capoccia's Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
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