Everybody who looked into their dog’s loving eyes has wondered what’s behind them.
We’re fairly familiar with what dogs are capable of and we know their intellectual limits as well as remarkable achievements.
Many people know or at least feel that their dog, like any other living thing on this planet, has feelings.
While the types of feelings canines can have are limited, is there actually something beyond that?
Do dogs have souls and what happens with the soul of a pet who has passed away?
I’m trying to steer the conversation more into a spiritual realm and will also consult what different cultures have to say on the matter.
Let’s set our scientifically-centric thoughts aside and explore whether or not dogs can have souls according to these diverse views.
Especially for children, the question of where dogs go when they die can keep them awake at night.
One minute the family dog is here, and the other he’s gone. Illness, old age, accidents – whatever the reason, coping with the loss of a family pet is hard for children and anyone involved.
So let’s dive in to shed some light on this.
Where Do Dogs Go When They Die? Do Dogs Go to Heaven?
In many cultures, there’s proof that when dogs died, they entered the afterlife or heaven as an extension of the family. While Egyptians sometimes buried pets with their loved ones, the Christian Pope Pius IX has described dogs as “things”, not “beings”, thus not able to enter heaven.
It’s not entirely clear where dogs go when they die but according to many cultures, they may enter heaven.
Our dogs going to heaven is a comforting thought for many dog owners.
When most people think about heaven, they imagine a world above the clouds that spreads vast across the sky.
The question if heaven exists or not is a question of belief.
The “afterlife” heaven actually refers to anything beyond the earth including air and space.
In the Christian religion, heaven is defined as “a place where God dwells”, an eternal state of being without pain or sickness.
If you accept the logic of this concept, why wouldn’t dogs or animals, in general, go to heaven?
They’re certainly less sinful than we humans are and the fact that they’re alive, have feelings, aspirations, and more should speak for the fact they too should be allowed to enter heaven if indeed such a place exists.
Dogs are likely not ruminating over something like whether they go to heaven or not, they just exist in the here and now.
Dogs live in this moment. Right now. So perhaps our obsession with the future and contemplation of the afterlife is somewhat unique to our species.
Furthermore, we have to discuss the question of what souls mean and if creatures who possess one automatically enter heaven.
Definitions for the term “soul” vary wildly, depending on who you ask.
The Greeks believed in the idea of a soul’s immortality. Even if the body dies, the soul will not and will be faced with an ultimate fate.
This could either be eternal bliss or torment.
On the other hand, ancient Jews were certain that the soul could not exist apart from the body. It was more like a “breath”.
This notion came from the biblical verse “The first human God created, Adam, began as a lump of clay; then God “breathed” life into him. (Genesis 2: 7)”
Once we have taken our last breath, it goes nowhere. It just stops. About two hundred years before Jesus was born, Jews began to change their thesis.
They adapted to the idea that there must come some kind of judgment after death and if that would be true, our dogs would definitely score well.
Do Dogs Have Souls?
Dogs have souls, at least according to the Egyptians’ belief that pets enter the afterlife. There’s proof of pets among many cultures which ascribes them a soul by extension as family members. However, Pope Pius IX is said to have led a crusade against animal advocates, citing dogs as “things”, not “beings”.
No matter what your beliefs are, dogs have played a major role in our lives for thousands of years.
Their ancestors have been either seen as a nuisance or they’ve been feverishly hunted down due to the risk they posed to humans.
Truly, life for a wolf wasn’t easy.
Wolves went from being hunted by humans to sneaking into their homes as pets which can be seen as a remarkable evolution.
This demanded constant development to adapt to our daily life.
Dogs were the first domesticated species and are still today the only fully domesticated pets.
Just think of all the service dogs out there.
Dogs were actually used as guard dogs, police or military dogs, or plainly as pets by the Egyptians.
Our beloved canines have been referenced circa 6000-3150 BCE in the Predynastic Period of Egypt in the form of carved rock images. Around 3500-3200 BCE, historians are debating documentation in written form or as images.
“Whichever breed inspired the image, dogs were closely linked to the jackal/dog god, Anubis, who guided the soul of the deceased to the Hall of Truth where the soul would be judged by the god Osiris.
Domesticated dogs were buried with great ceremony in the temple of Anubis at Saqqara and the idea behind this seemed to be to help the deceased dogs pass on easily to the afterlife (known in Egypt as the Field of Reeds) where they could continue to enjoy their lives as they had on earth.
At Abydos, there was a special cemetery reserved just for dogs.”
World History Encyclopedia – Pets in Ancient Egypt
As you can see, the Egyptians held their pets and especially dogs in very high esteem.
Pets were believed to enter the afterlife and no expense was spared in some families for the pets.
Since this attests to the fact that Egyptians saw a resemblance to humans, the fact that dogs entered the afterlife can definitely mean that dogs were believed to have a soul.
Philosophers tried to take on this mammoth of a topic far before our time, so let’s check what they have to say.
“Plato also held that at death, soul and body are separated; the body decays while the soul departs to live another life.
Aristotle, by contrast, thought of the soul simply as a ‘form’, that is, as a way of behaving and thinking (…).”
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
While the views of philosophers have not been extended to animals and specifically dogs in many cases, there have been additions to this.
Since Christians believe that there’s some kind of afterlife, it was natural for them to adopt Plato’s concept at some point.
This concept was modified by Thomas Aquinas to be used by the church.
“The soul, Aquinas taught, was indeed a form, but a special kind of form, one which could temporarily exist without the body to which it was naturally fitted.”
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sadly, Pope Pius IX who was the head of the church for more than 30 years in the 19th century, is said to have led a crusade against the Italian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In a statement, he cited Aquinas in his defense.
This defense is said to refer to Aquinas’ remarks that animals are not beings, but just “things”.
“However, Aquinas seems to have had some doubts since he warned, “we must use animals in accordance with the Divine Purpose lest at the Day of Judgment they give evidence against us before the throne,” which would certainly suggest that animals would be around in the afterlife.”
Psychology Today – Are There Dogs In Heaven?
Naturally, views not only adapt throughout the centuries but important information is lost in translation, or even deliberately changed to fit certain agendas or doctrines.
It’s a fact that many cultures had ancient dog breeds living in the household which definitely ascribes some importance to them.
Paired with the fact that many cultures believe a family’s bond to be something untouchable makes for an attractive argument that canines have been viewed as having a soul too.
Many of these constellations can be explained by the fact that dogs were working for their humans, but nowadays we can be sure that plenty of pet dogs existed in Native America, Eastern Europe, South Africa, and China.
If we’re taking care of an animal all their life with nothing to gain (except for unconditional love and happiness), don’t we automatically have to think there’s something inside that borders on the spiritual?
The Rainbow Bridge
Even if parents themselves don’t adopt the heaven concept or even the concept that a soul goes somewhere after the being dies, they often tell their kids “the dog crossed the rainbow bridge”.
What exactly is the rainbow bridge? Who invented it?
Certainly not dogs because I’ve seen my dog check out rainbows and while animals understand nature on a profound level and respect it, they do not consciously acknowledge beauty.
Then again, not all humans find the thought of a rainbow bridge comforting. The general consensus is that it’s a warm and fuzzy feeling.
All that energy that’s bundled up inside your family dog has to go somewhere right? Physics lays it out right there.
Energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed.
So perhaps a dog’s soul really is going somewhere? Whether it’s just lingering in the air or going to a certain place, you have to decide for yourself.
Do Dogs Have Feelings?
Research has proven that dogs definitely have feelings.
We humans often anthropomorphize dogs to the extent that we give them human attributes.
Puppy poops onto your hardwood floor even though you’re sure he’s been potty-trained? Must be spiteful behavior right? Science says no.
A dog takes revenge for what you did to him weeks ago. Vengeance, right? Wrong.
But dogs do have feelings, it’s just that they have a more limited range and express them in different ways.
Dogs even have a sense of fairness, so make sure to treat your pooch fairly.
I actually have an article on what range of emotions dogs can feel and what they cannot feel.
Dogs can even sense sadness in us which is an awesome thing for humans using canines as service dogs.
Do Dogs Know They’re Dying?
Yes, dogs often know or sense when they’re dying.
Dogs behave differently right before they die, they might prefer to be alone or just behave strangely or surprisingly upbeat.
How exactly dogs know this or what gives it away to them isn’t clear, but what’s clear is that all animals are far closer to nature than we humans are.
That’s not to say that humans can’t also think they’re feeling their “spirit” leave their body, but it often happens quite late in life while dogs seem connected throughout their whole time on earth.
So whether or not your dog has a soul (or whether or not you have one yourself); dogs are loyal, loving beings with feelings and should be treated accordingly.
Sources & References
- World History Encyclopedia – Pets in Ancient Egypt
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Ancient Theories of Soul
- Psychology Today – Are There Dogs In Heaven?