Christian Comfort at the Loss of a Pet
For years I dreaded what would happen when I lost my beloved Colonel Mustard. Here’s how God provided the comfort I needed, and I hope it helps you too.
First of all, if you’re reading this, you are going through a horrible time. I understand. I feel what you feel at a visceral level. I hope that helps a bit, because I’ve found that too often people who don’t have pets don’t understand that they are truly part of the family and take a place in your life that cannot be described.
My Lack of Fully Trusting/Understanding God’s Providence and Ability
About 2 years before he passed, the Colonel started having a weird health issue regarding peeing (sorry, but if you’re a pet owner, you know all dignity went out the window when you got your sweet little one) that they couldn’t diagnose. God gave me the answer (probiotics! Yes, they’re good for dogs too!). So I was basically worried for 2 years.
The reason I was worrying so much was because I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again if he passed. When my dad and grandparents died, I knew I’d see them again because they were believers, but what about my dog?
Well during that period, I found an article about what Billy Graham said about animals in heaven. That gave me a lot of comfort. But I still wanted more peace and assurance from God.
In November of 2023, Colonel Mustard had a lesion removed that turned out to be cancer. Not the worst kind, but aggressive nonetheless. He started on chemo immediately. I was terrified and cried out to God. One of the things I prayed for was that he would be healthy until the end. Watching him slowly disintegrate would have been horrible for me. And wow did He provide.
For 7 months after he was diagnosed, he was as healthy as a puppy; the vet frequently said “I just can’t believe how healthy he is.” When he went downhill, it was swift and awful. But in the grand scheme of things, 10 days is short.
When I took him in to put him down, my mom and pastor were with me.
HERE IS WHERE SOME GREAT COMFORT EMERGED.
As we sat on the floor with the Colonel, Pastor Dan said that he thought that when sin entered the human race, it affected animals too. I thought I remembered something in Genesis during the creation story about animals initially being herbivores. So a few days after this, I went looking for it and found it in Genesis 1:30:
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
That’s definitely different than the world we live in now.
Then I thought about the verses in Isaiah (11:6) about the wolf living with the lamb:
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
Given that Isaiah was a prophetic book, that gives a lot of hope.
Finally, something my mom said to me really hit home: God loved Colonel Mustard even more than I did, because He created him.
There are so many verses in the Bible that mention God’s love of all his creation, including animals. Remember that not even a sparrow can fall without Him knowing.
To summarize three key points that should comfort you:
1. Animals were also affected by sin entering the human race.
2. Isaiah as a prophet saw animals living together peacefully rather than having a predator/prey relationship.
3. God created your pet, so He loves him/her even more than you do.
So absolutely it seems we will see our beloved pets in heaven.
Peace, Finally
Remember how I said I didn’t really understand how God could give me peace or get me through this? The morning after he passed, I woke up with such incredible peace. It’s that peace that undeniably comes from the Holy Spirit and transcends all (human) understanding (Philippians 4:7).
This, also, was a sheer miracle.
This thing I thought was impossible for years just fully arrived like an old friend at my door. Was I still sad? Yes. But this peace changed the world for me.
I knew God had the Colonel and that He had His hand on me too. I’d be going through grief, but I knew that was temporary. I could weather the temporary storms.
How God Used This Adversity to Strengthen My Faith
Now looking in the rearview mirror, I see what God did for me through this dog.
I saw Him perform miracles to keep him alive.
In addition to what I mentioned about him being healthy for 7 months, more dramatically, he almost hemorrhaged out on my couch after his tumor removal. I thought that was the end, but God did not.
God also used his death to bring me closer to my mom.
The strength of our relationship was never as amazing as in the two weeks after he passed. I am very grateful for that.
Finally, like I said, for years I worried about his death. Honestly, I didn’t trust that God could give me peace about this. I prayed about it every morning for months because I knew how wrong it was. I know God is more powerful than any problem I face, but I just didn’t seem to believe it there because I didn’t understand how he could do it.
But He did give me peace.
That’s the thing – you’ll never understand how God works, just that He does.
My goal here was to bring you some comfort, so I hope that helped. Now I’d like to finish off by telling my particular story to shine a light on the special boy that walked into my life on April 26, 2013. You certainly don’t have to keep reading! But I’d like to pay Colonel Mustard some respect.
Colonel Mustard in a Nutshell
This little guy was the perfect blend of classic Lab happy, playful, and hungry (always, always hungry); and stubborn (just like his mama). He was beloved at his vet, with techs who weren’t working with him going back to see him just because Colonel Mustard was there!
He went through my father’s death with me, as well as my own almost death. He went through a quarter of my life with me. He was my best friend and my office buddy since I work from home.
Two-and-a-half months later, I still miss him. His absence is still pronounced. But I am so happy to know that God loves him more because He created him, and that he’s waiting for me to come home to see him again.
