All of us who love ARISTOPETS have wondered at some point what will become of them when we are gone - or of us, when they are gone. We want them in our present life, but also in the future, if there is one. Proof of this is that in some cities there are already pet cemeteries (Malaga is a good example, as we already told you in this post). While in others, such as New York, ARISTOPARENTS and ARISTOPETS are already allowed to be buried together.
But not only that. The results of a study on animal eternal life, published in the journal Anthrozoös, also have a lot to say about it. The study involved 800 members, all of them Americans. And it revealed that 45% of pet owners believe in an animal afterlife, compared to 37.8% of participants who were not pet owners. 59% of participants claimed to believe in human eternal life. And within that percentage, 75% claimed to also believe in the eternal life of animals.
The survey also found certain demographics that contribute to the belief in the life of animals after death. Women, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, African Americans, Buddhists, Southerners, and of course, pet owners show a greater tendency to believe in the eternal life of animals.
The researchers also found that respondents held different beliefs for different animals. The study director, Kenneth Royal, from the University of North Carolina, stated that generally dogs, cats, and horses were rated as most likely to experience an afterlife. While insects, fish, and reptiles are, according to the surveys, the least likely.
It makes sense that if we have shared our lives with them, we would hope to continue with them in eternity - if there is one. After all, when we think of eternal life or the afterlife, we tend to think of it as a place of happiness and peace, where we will meet our loved ones. And for that reason, logically, our ARISTOCATS and our ARISTODOGS cannot be missing, if we are to imagine. It is a comforting thought, to say the least.
In fact, the belief that our animals will be in the afterlife, waiting for us, dates back to the holy scriptures. Recently, Pope Francis quoted the apostle Paul in a speech dedicated to life and death. The quote said that, seeing Paul a child in tears because of the death of his dog, he said: "One day we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ." In the same vein, his predecessor, John Paul II, affirmed that not only men and women, but also animals have a "divine breath."
Be that as it may and regardless of individual beliefs, which are very personal, it is true that in popular culture there is what we call "the dog's heaven". A place, full of symbolism, where we tend to think that the furry ones who are no longer with us go. It all depends on the hope, imagination, or faith one has or does not have. In any case, we will always have that "one lives as long as one is remembered."