(Now we have to say here that humans say things to make other humans feel better. Nothing wrong with that, in most cases. A lot of bad doctrine gets spewed around in the interest of, "Making people feel better.")
Will YOUR dog go to heaven? We here the Undercover Adventist can say 100% surety, that your pets will not be greeting you in heaven. Let's do this quick, and as painless as possible.
Birds and fish were created on Day 5. On Day 6 of Creation, God created animals that crawled around on the ground. That would include cats, dogs, and other four legged creatures. Those two days of creation make up virtually anything you would have for a pet.
Look at the creation of Man.
Gen 1:26-28 "26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
Gen 2:7 " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Nowhere does God ever make animals out of His own image.
Nowhere does God ever breathe into an animal and make it a living soul.
Let's now look at John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"
Can your pets believe in Jesus? Did Jesus die on the cross for your dog?
Jesus came to save YOUR soul. Not your pets. As much as love them, they are possessions.
We are sure that people have cars, houses, boats, even money, that they love and cherish. You will not be bringing those to heaven either.
You want the end all to end all about this question? Jesus said you won't even have a spouse in heaven. That's right. You cannot choose to have a wife in heaven.
But you think you will have your pet?
Do you love and cherish your sons, daughters, wives, husbands, aunts, uncles....and think that just because of that, they will be in heaven?
If someone asked you if you will be able to bring your unsaved son into heaven, you would most assuredly say, "No!" And rightly so.
God is such a god, that he will allow you to bring an animal to heaven, but a not a human being?
Literally millions of humans will be burned up. And yet, you would believe that your neighbor's dog will be with him in heaven?
Some say that if you are a Christian, then your pets will automatically go to heaven. That makes no sense. Will your children automatically go to heaven?
Man was made in the image of God.
Jesus died on the cross to save the souls of mankind. Not animals.
Yes, we believe there will be animals in heaven. Animals that we have never seen. Animals that will be so outrageously beautiful, we cannot imagine.
Our lives will be so fulfilled by Jesus and our surroundings, we will not even be thinking about our old lives on the old Earth.
We will be the bride of Christ, experiencing immeasurable pleasure.
We say a lot of things to make people feel better, but we must be scriptural accurate.
We must believe that God did create animals, and they populated this Earth. What ultimately comes of them, is up to God. But to stretch it to say you will bring your cat to heaven, but not your best human friend (if they are lost) would not be justice or mercy.
We will not need pets to complete our lives in heaven, nor make us any happier.
