Religion

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carolyn Sharp's beloved greyhound Starr was 4 years old when she was diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer.

Sharp decided the two of them would stay together as long as Starr was not suffering too much. The greyhound received radiation treatments and pain patches for several months until the veterinarian told Sharp it was time to end it.

Eight years later she still doesn't understand the "why." But she is certain she'll hold Starr again — in an afterlife.

"I believe I'll have three cats and a whole bunch of dogs waiting for me," Sharp said.

Jack Vinyardi of Kansas City, Mo., an ordained interfaith chaplain of pets, said he is asked that question all the time as he comforts people about to lose or who have lost a pet.

He tells them there is no faith that claims to know unquestionably what happens to animals when they die.

"It is my job to comfort," he said. "I believe we each can find answers to divine questions if we look deeply in our own hearts and ask for guidance there. Although our answers may differ from the answers others have found, they are our own, and they will comfort us.

Jewish

Rabbi Scott White of Congregation Ohev Sholom in Prairie Village once saw a bumper sticker that read, "Lord, please help me to become as great a person as my dog thinks I am."

"Judaism teaches that God reserves a blessed existence in the world to come for the truly virtuous," White said. "For myself, paradise with my own mutt (Rescue the Wonder Dog) is a perfect inducement to pursue virtue."

Protestant

Thor Madsen, academic dean at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, acknowledged the desire of Christians to see their pets again. But, he concluded, "We really have no biblical grounds for an assurance that our pets will be resurrected along with us."

Some Christians think heaven would be lacking something essential to their happiness if their pets are not there with them, Madsen said.

"But the Scriptures imply that heaven's overwhelming treasure for us is the fellowship that we, the followers of Christ, will have with our Creator and Savior," he said. "... Nothing will seem to be absent at that point."

Catholic

Children, and even some adults, have asked the Rev. John Schmeidler of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Lawrence, Kan., whether their pet had gone to heaven.

The Catholic Church traditionally teaches that animals do not go to heaven, he said.

"But a lot of people have a hard time with that, and I do, too, when I see a grieving pet owner. I know God wants us to be totally happy in heaven, and if our dog will help make us fully happy, and if God can resurrect us, I'm sure he could resurrect a dog, too."

Muslim

The Qur'an contains no direct references to an afterlife for animals, said Muslim scholar Abdalla Idris Ali of Kansas City. But there are indirect references.