Do Dogs Go to Heaven? Ask the Pope!

If you’ve been wondering “do dogs go to heaven?” the answer is murkier than ever!

A few weeks ago, I was told that the pope had answered a question that has been on my mind since I was a young pup: “Do dogs go to heaven?” Now, truth be told, I’m not a religious dog, but once I watched the children’s movie All Dogs Go to Heaven, and I couldn’t stop wondering what happens to dogs after they die. The answer has been eluding me for a few years now, so when I heard the pope made a statement about it in December of 2014, I rushed online to read the official word from the Vatican.

I was so pleased to read that Pope Francis had announced that all dogs will go to heaven! I wondered what heaven was like, and even asked some of my Catholic dog friends how they perceived this life-after-death experience, and boy, I learned a lot! I knew this would be a hot topic to share with you all, so I made sure it would be the first post I’d share in 2015. I couldn’t wait to write the content, so I jumped online and started to research what triggered the pope to make this statement.

But now I’m more confused than ever!

While doing some research for this post, I’ve come to realize that what I read might not have been true at all. I’ve always been picky about where I read my news. You see, the Internet is a big place, and often misinformation is easily shared. The wild thing about this story is that so many reputable news outlets, including The New York Times, were reporting that Pope Francis opened the gates of heaven to pets.

The story started when Pope Francis was reportedly comforting a young boy whose dog had passed away. He was reported as saying, “One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures.” However, the Vatican Radio, and other reputable media outlets were quick to report that was not what was said by the pope.

One of the reasons many readers believed these reports right away was that Pope Francis took his papal name from the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi, the saint who loved animals. Plus, with catchy news articles titled “Pope Opens Pearly Gates to Puppies” and “All Dogs Do Go to Heaven,” it’s easy to understand how easily this information was spread and shared online. I wonder how many dogs out there heard this story and never researched the validity of the claims.

So, I guess I’m back to square one. I’m stuck wondering, “Do dogs go to heaven?” Or maybe I’ll just relax about what happens after pups die. There is (hopefully) a long time until I need to figure that out, and when I find out, well, then I’ll know!

What do you think happens to dogs when they pass away? Share your thoughts in the comments! 

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