Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!

Susi Pittman's new book, Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!: Recognizing Divine Providence at Work in Creation, is essential for everyone who wonders about what lies ahead in the afterlife. Will we be united with our favorite pets and walk with lions without fear?

Pittman is a devout Catholic who has empathized with domestic and wild animals since she was a small child. She's been caregiver to 79 animals (domestic and wild) and the truths they've shown her encouraged the writing of Animals in Heaven? - especially for her fellow Catholics - but also for all of us who have struggled with this age-old question.

Animals in Heaven? is more than answers to our questions about the destiny of our favorite and faithful companions - it's an exploration into God's love and concern for all creation. The book delves into the doctrine of Catholicism so that we'll better understand what the church teaches about animals' afterlife and why some Catholics may not believe in this theory.

Susi also explores the "universal call" from God that we all be "stewards of the earth" and that Jesus didn't come only to redeem us, but all creation. Pittman wants us to know how to ready our pets to pass on and how to channel the grief that we're sure to feel when losing a faithful companion - or helping others deal with that heartache.

Pittman has written Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know! in hopes that we'll all understand our responsibility to be good stewards of all He has given us.

Do all dogs truly go to heaven? "Animals in Heaven?: Catholics Want to Know" is a spiritual guide for Catholics who wonder about the fate of their furry friends and their souls in the greater picture of the universe. With a comforting and message discussing pets and their relations to Catholicism and the spiritual motivation of pets, "Animals in Heaven?" is a must read for those who don't want to forget Fluffy in their faith.


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In her book, Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!, author, Susi Pittman challenges all Catholics - all pet lovers too - to think how animals, both wild and domestic, fit into God's universal love. A heaven without our beloved animals means that God doesn't value them. How could that be?

Animals in Heaven? is the first book of its kind to aim information to Catholic laymen. It's easy to read and captures the imagination with interesting stories and facts about the Church's saints and animals. Pittman also talks about creation and how the destiny of everything He created is ordained by Him.

Pittman takes us back to the Garden of Eden and the perfect existence that Adam and Eve had with God and all other living things. After Adam and Eve yielded to temptation the harmony that existed was traumatized and nothing was as it had been, including humans' peaceful existence among earth's animals.

Susi Pittman goes on to explain how even though we could no longer walk with God in the Garden of Eden didn't cancel the reality that all creation was redeemed when Jesus came to earth in the form of man. She explains that now the gates of heaven are open to all creation -- not just human beings.

Whether you're Catholic or not, Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!: Recognizing Divine Providence at Work in Creation, is a book you'll want to read. You'll gain assurance from Pittman's research and experience that our beloved companions will also be our companions in Heaven.

In the first book by Susi Pittman, Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know! is an excellent
source of proof to Catholic laymen that animals do have a place in heaven and they will, indeed, see their beloved pets when they join them.

Susi's love of animals began in childhood and she's carried that love throughout her adult life by caring for numerous animals, wild and domestic. Pittman says, "I've sat upon the "footstool of the Creator" and learned from His works."

When her husband became ill with throat cancer, Susi's care giving abilities became necessary to help him fight during the two years he lived. Knowing how important the book was to her, Greg - Susi's husband - implored her to finish her research and publish it. "Susi, you gotta do your book! God needs you now!" Greg told her only eight days before he passed away. She promised him that she'd finish the book.

Although Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know! is targeted especially for Catholics, it's also a must read for environmentalists, conservationists, nature lovers and all animal lovers. We all have a responsibility to become stewards of the earth - and Pittman shows us how we can inspire others to take responsibility.

Susi spent many hours researching the beliefs of the Catholic faith in regards to animals in heaven. Then, she translated it into a book we can all relate to and also reassure ourselves that we will see our beloved pets and admired wild animals in heaven.

Our spirituality can have a wonderful effect on the pets in our lives. It is perhaps the least thought about but the most important aspect of connecting two creatures in a universal intimacy. It leads to a multi-dimensional relationship of signals, gestures and sounds, all complemented by our peaceful persona.

Some would be authorities would have us believe that achieving such intimacy is first of all ridiculous and secondly, represents our need to transmit human characteristics upon animals, thus making the relationship dysfunctional.

The truth is this type of thinking could not be further from the truth! Loving contact in any form is not dysfunctional, but very human. It helps to develop our humanity when we connect with the unconditional love of a pet and it has been proven again and again in nursing homes, hospitals and with our wounded veterans, just how animals can lift our spirits just by being close.

To get a glimpse of heaven is to have a pet or an animal that needs our care. They live here on earth in the present moment. That in itself is fascinating. As human beings, we live by the clock, for the clock and with the clock. Time plays into every aspect of our lives. Not so with animals. They know not time. Their internal gauge is different than ours. It is set to "life rhythms" rather than minutes and hours. Our pets especially are masters of observation. They take note of our routines, our habits and idiosyncrasies and move in our lives accordingly. The dynamics of the relationship is usually in the hands of the human. Together we communicate, we by voice, tone, touch, playfulness, sternness, love or even an unseen impulse, they by just a look. It is evocative and complex.

The deepest intimacy is based not on speech, but in the intuitiveness of being present in the moment. There are no questions, no hurtful words, just looks, posturing and acknowledgement in glances exchanged and the presence of the spiritual dignity given all God's creatures. They have been given the ability to know our needs, weaknesses, strengths, love's and dislikes in so many ways.

Our pets know when we are about to return home from work as much as they know that a thunderstorm will arrive during the day. One is in the rhythm of our life the other is the rhythm of the natural realm. Animals are acutely aware of so much more than our five senses are telling us.

Our pets are deeply rooted in spirituality. They were created as "good" by the Creator and given their own "particular good" to the extent that they can receive it. They were hard-wired to cooperate with the Creator in this realm as they move about with humanity, ever subject to humankind's disposition of them.

It is up to us to receive and understand the mission given us from the garden of Eden. That we were given dominion over all the earth and its creatures for the continued God that divine providence had willed from the beginning.

Our pets are a wonderful place to start understanding that. They lead us in their unconditional love to places in our heart that resound the harmony of old. Their devotion and physical presence in our lives enriches the "living" experience taking us beyond ourselves. Our pets would if they could, remain with us until our natural deaths. So many times, a family pet has mourned the loss of its owner to an early death, showing how deeply and emotionally they feel the loss.

The spiritual and physical bonds between pet and pet owner grow and change as the love matures. The trust, love and gentility given and taken is one of the miracles of God as humankind and our love for animals crosses the barrier of species.

What does time have to do with taking care of the earth? Why should I concern myself with all the table pounding and outright public shouting that "I am not green enough," or "I need to learn more sustainability" and yet another, "I need to be a vegan," or we all will die. It all seems so militant and brash.

It doesn't have to be. At times we allow ourselves to be led in the noise of the media charge and we fail to allow ourselves the quiet guidance of a still small voice. It is in that quiet that we receive a rightly ordered approach to the beauty and timelessness that is God's spirit about us.

Time is a gift that is given by God, in which to fulfill the mission given to us before we leave this planet. Stewardship is the gauge by which that time is used. Stewardship of creation requires our concern of the state of the world now and for the well being of future generations.

Opening up ones heart and mind to the Creator's original plan when He placed humankind upon the earth, is essential to approaching the stewardship we have all been called to. Humanity was called not to defend the environment, as if humanity was born into conflict with the earth, but it is in protecting it. There is a moral order in the natural realm as we see humanity and the world in which we all live exists to an order and purpose.

Galileo saw the natural realm as a book whose author is God. God has instituted this realm and all it's mysteries, He supports them and sustains them continuously. God is present to and in His creation at all times.

Letting this truth fall upon the heart allows then for the quiet inspirations of the Holy Spirit to move the human conscience into action and into a positive and relative relationship with the world about it. Prayer is the "constant contact" of staying on track in the duties of being a good steward of creation.

Without truth human life becomes chaotic insanity. The incredible leaps in scientific discoveries in space have certainly affirmed that far from the universe originating out of chaos, it is ordered and moves in an evidential correspondence to an unseen source.

Can we be "green" and live a "sustainable" lifestyle without brandishing angry and accusatory rhetoric? You bet! To live in peaceful harmony with the world about us was our first mission. And that truth is the truth that humankind must once again take into its heart and change the world.

Susi Pittman is author of the award winning book "Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!". She is also a conservationist, ecologist, and an animal activist who lives with 14 rescued pets and a member/advocate for the Humane Society of the United States.

Over half the households in Europe and North America have at least one pet. They range from cats, dogs and parrots to rabbits, mice and hamsters. Surveys have shown that nine out of ten pet owners believe that their pets understand what they say and how they are feeling. But do they really?

Let's look at some recent animal heroics.

Just last week, America was glued to the FOX network as a firefighter named, Joe St. George was lowered from a helicopter to rescue a large dog caught in one of the Los Angeles river channels, and was fighting for it's life as it tried to escape the water. As St. George reached the extremely frightened animal, he was able to grab him, but not without the dog first biting him several times on the arm and hand. St. George did not hold that against the dog, remarking, "What did I expect? I was in gear, being lowered from a loud machine, causing incredible wind, to a dog that was frightened to death%u2026.he didn't exactly see me as a friend." St. George spoke to the dog and held on to the dog with all his might and the dog incredibly gave himself over to St. George as the helicopter began to lift the two of them to safety. The higher the two went, you could see the dog continuing to "dog-paddle, as if swimming" but trusting the man who held him. The two were both retrieved safely. Did the dog understand St. George's words and sense his true concern and intentions? What other explanation could exist, otherwise the dog would have fought him all the way.

Another story comes out of British Columbia where an 11-year-old boy was saved by his 18-month-old dog, Angel. A wild cougar was threatening the young man and his dog jumped in front of him and fought the cougar. An intervening policeman had to shoot the cougar, but saved the dog. Although the dog had some serious injuries he was expected to fully recover. Did the bond of love between this young dog and young man supersede the dogs concern for safety? I think so; the dog sensed the boys fear and was willing to sacrifice its life for the boy.

A woman in Pennsylvania collapses in her kitchen. Her pet Vietnamese pot bellied pig, Lulu comes into the kitchen when she hears her owner calling for help. The pig came over to woman and made what the woman could only describe as sorrowful crying sounds and the woman spoke to the pig telling her she needed help. The pig then raced out of the house to the side of the road. Witnesses said that the pig would wait for a car to come and then walk out into the roadway and lay down in front of the car. Motorist would drive around the pig, but finally a motorist did stop and get out, at which point Lulu led him back to the kitchen and he called for an ambulance. This event just defies explanation except one that might be of a miraculous nature.

There are so many more stories about parrots, snakes, guinea pigs, chickens and rabbits who all either helped their families avert a terrible danger or who gave their lives in the process of doing so.

Suffice it to say that God indeed imbued these beautiful creatures with a particular good that His Divine Providence guided to a loving if not sacrificial end. Nothing good is lost from God. He is aware at all times of all his creatures and He gives to each its unique character and abilities. Do animals feel? Yes. Do animals understand what we say? Yes.

The relationship we have with our domestic pets, our other family members is the inter-connectedness that God has given that unique human-animal bond. When we read stories about these incredible animal heroics, we should not be surprised. Nothing is impossible with God and there is certainly all probability that animals are connected intimately with their Creator, responding to Him first, thus being capable of extraordinary and miraculous actions.

The natural disaster in Haiti has called out to the world community for assistance to aid its people. The United States leads the global community with its generous and extensive supplications of food, water, health, medical, military and spiritual aid. It is no small undertaking and other nations too are advancing similar aid. But, there is another victim in this tragedy, the one that for the most part goes unseen because of the human carnage at hand. It is the needs and suffering of the animals of Haiti.

Much of the Haitian community lives a very impoverished existence and they rely heavily upon their farm animals for labor, eggs, milk and such. When we as Americans view the enormous amount of need that the domestic animal community presented following the hurricane Katrina disaster in this country, we can only imagine how monumental the need is for this same type of help for the Haitians and their animals.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. It is calculated that 60% of the over 7 million people lives a rural life. It is a nation of small farmers, commonly referred to as peasants, who work small farm animals and depend primarily on their own labor and that of family members. Rural Haitians are not subsistence farmers. Peasant women typically sell much of the family harvest in regional open-air market places and use the money to buy household foods. Rice and beans are considered the national dish.

Help is on the way and it needs your support!

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) www.wspa-international.org and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) www.ifaw.org/splash.php are uniting in their efforts to meet the critical needs of the animal community by developing the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH). This coalition will assist in the response efforts. Their teams will be operating mobile clinics donated by the Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society and need funds to complete the necessary supply list. The WSPA mission implements effective and sustainable animal welfare projects around the world by working with groups who have local skills and knowledge. They have seen how organizational partnerships can achieve far-reaching results.

At this time, teams from these organizations have been mobilize to enter Haiti and work alongside of the various humanitarian aid groups to evaluate and initiate a ground approach to immediate help for animals, both domestic and wild. The troubled security situation in Haiti has been a hindrance for many organizations, but it appears that with the help of the United States, this problem will be curtailed.

Much of what will be found in Haiti as Animal Welfare groups make their assessments will be animals that are trapped, injured or abandoned. It is the universal by-product of
natural disasters.

What can you do?

Support these organizations financially now. Their field and disaster management teams provide direct help to the animals. Making a difference now means that every person is important to the success of this common goal, assisting the people of Haiti who depend heavily upon their animal community.

Susi Pittman, WSPA advocate, author, conservationist
www.catholicstewardsofcreation.com