Where do animals go when they die?

Chances are, at some point in your life, you had a pet or an animal companion and maybe you still do. It could be anything from a dog or cat to a bird or a goat. But in youth, animals can be a great boon, providing companionship, a form of responsibility, and a partner in crime. And if a pet of yours ever died while you were young, you probably asked a parent or sibling where animals go when they die.

Recently on The Patrick Madrid Show, Geraldine called in to ask Patrick where animals go when they die, because her cat of 19 years was hit by a car. Patrick responded, saying, “Well, the honest answer is nowhere. When animals die, that’s the end of them. They don’t have souls that last beyond death. They have souls in this life, but when the body and the soul separate in death, there is no more animal.”

Patrick was not able to delve into the mystery of other animals in Heaven, but there is an article by Lindsey Kettner regarding the possible existence of another form of animals in Heaven. At its core, we do not know what Heaven will be like, so it’s impossible to predict the conditions of God’s Paradise, we only know that it will be perfect. So, animals or not, it will be an eternity of happiness with Our Lord.

What we do know about the being of living things can be explained with simple geometry. God can be likened to a line: it has no beginning and no end, like God. It goes on forever in either direction.

Humans and angels, God’s highest creations, can be compared to a ray. A ray has a starting point (our creation by God), but no end. Our souls are immortal.

Animals and plants, forms of life incapable of perceiving the world as we do for lack of an intellect and free will, are like line segments. They have a starting point at their creation and when their lives end, they and their souls cease to exist.

Listen to the question and answer below:

Tune in to The Patrick Madrid Show weekdays 8am – 11am CT

John Hanretty serves as a Digital Media Producer for Relevant Radio®. He is a graduate of the Gupta College of Business at the University of Dallas. Besides being passionate about writing, his hobbies include drawing and digital design. You can read more of his daily articles at relevantradio.com and on the Relevant Radio® app.