Hey Mom… Do Dogs Go To Heaven??

Of Course Dogs Go To Heaven… Here’s Proof!

It’s summer. The kids are out of school. Flowers of every color populate yards and gardens. It’s time for cookouts, picnics, hide-and-seek, and backyard basketball games. A time for kids to be kids-to enjoy the great outdoors without the burdens of homework or curfews. As a parent, we wish that our kids could remain this happy and innocent forever. Then reality has a way of crawling out of the dark recesses and overshadowing a blissful sunny afternoon.

My son went to play over at his best friend’s house this afternoon. It’s a cute house in a “Mayberry” type neighborhood. Full of big trees, quiet streets, trampolines and bicycles. There are “Slow, Children Playing” signs posted along the road sides and speed bumps to keep what little traffic there is from exceeding the 20 MPH speed limit. A safe haven away from the daily rat race of our hectic lives.

That is, until you look at the ten foot long blood stain that lies on the side of the road. My son was waiting out in the yard when I arrived to pick him up. He walked dejectedly to the car and flopped down into the passenger seat. “Mom, I feel so bad for the neighbors”, he said. I asked what happened and he related the sad story.

Apparently the neighbor children had a dog. Not just a dog, but a member of the family. A protector, companion, and friend named Muttley. Muttley was a good dog. He was well trained; he loved the kids and anyone else who offered him a scratch on the belly or a pat on the head. When the children were outside, Muttley was never far away. Even when he went out for a bathroom break, he knew his limits and never approached the road. He had never needed a leash or a fence to keep him in the yard that he so proudly protected.

Today, something was different. For reasons unknown, Muttley strayed too close to the road. That’s when a 3000 pound, 200 horsepower raging death machine mercilessly took Muttley away from his family forever. What kind of person exceeds the speed limit by at least 40 MPH in a residential neighborhood? What kind of person never even swerves to avoid a hapless creature standing on the side of the road? What kind of person leaves man’s best friend lying in a ten foot long puddle of blood and doesn’t even slow down? What kind of person could look into the horrified, tear stained face of a child and and not stop?

The only answer I have for that question is that the driver of that car shouldn’t be classified as a person, but an animal. No, animal is too nice a term; most animals kill only for food or in self-defense. Barbarian is a more appropriate term. I know that this world is filled with war, poverty, hunger and cruelty. I know that horrific crimes are committed each day. I know that the death of a family pet seems like a trivial thing in the grand scheme of things. But Muttley was a friend…

Tonight there will be a small funeral held in the backyard of a quiet home in suburbia. A cardboard box, lots of tears, a few flowers from the yard, a heartfelt eulogy and many hugs. Afterward, two parents will try to explain the unexplainable to three small children. And there will be more hugs because words can never convey the sorrow that is felt by this one little family. Or take away the trauma. Later, when they are alone, two parents will contemplate another question. A more chilling question. Supposed the hapless creature on the side of the road hadn’t been Muttley, but one of their children? Or one of the other neighborhood children?

Tonight, somewhere, there sits a barbarian. A lead-footed killer with a blood-stained car and no conscience. A murderer who could have just as easily been responsible for the death of a child as he was the death of this poor animal. Sleep well, Barbarian! Because one day I believe that you will answer to a higher power. And then there will be justice.

Meanwhile, at my house, we will say a prayer for Muttley and his grieving family. And I will once again hug my son and reassure him that “Yes, Honey, dogs go to heaven too…”