ALL PETS GO TO HEAVEN, HERE’S WHY (PART ONE)

Today marks the day that our beloved cat since 2009 gains her angel wings. It’s been a heartbreaking past few months, but last Thursday the call was made that she deserves to stop suffering. With heavy hearts the whole family is at home waiting for the vet to come and help Sophie go to her real home. Honestly, the anticipation and waiting is the hardest part.

I could go on and on about how horrible cancer is when it comes to both people and pets, but instead of focusing on the negative thing that took our beautiful Sophie, I want to focus on the great things about the past 12 years with her.

To put it plain and simple, Sophie was a loving kitty with a hot temper. She loved all of us in the family, but really fell in love with my Mom. (Maybe that could have something to do with the treats and food she would give her, but Sophie deserved every ounce of food she was ever given thanks to her!) I always loved coming home from Fargo to see the special bond between my Mom and Sophie. It always put a huge smile on my face. Sophie also always used to love chasing me up the stairs when she as a baby. I remember back when I was only nine years old having to run upstairs with a pillow covering my feet so Sophie couldn’t get to them. But the memory that sticks with me the most was when she heard the sound of her can of food opening… She could be anywhere in the house and would come RUNNING as fast as she could to eat the can of food in record time.

Losing a pet sucks. We’ve lost hamsters, goldfish, and dogs that we were close to but didn’t live with, but this is the hardest. Sophie was our first cat and our first actual family pet. People always fear the day they’ll have to say “see you later,” but it always seems to come too soon. Often people say how you’ll never see your pet again because they don’t have a soul. Guess what… I call that absolute bullshit of a statement. That’s because it just is not true. I’m not going to just make a statement like that and not give you proof though, so here’s some evidence to back me up…

First, it says straight in the Bible about what you can expect when your time comes to finally go home.

Isaiah 11:6 says that “If God created animals for the Garden of Eden to give us a picture of His ideal place, He will surely include them in Heaven, God’s perfect new Eden!”

This verse has given me comfort during this hard time and I have read it over and over and over. If you have lost a pet or one day have to go through this as well, I encourage you to read Bible verses about pets in Heaven. It will give you comfort and has really been one of my saving graces throughout the past week especially.

As if the Bible itself isn’t enough proof for you, I have one more thing.

Back in 2003 my biological father, Todd Helbling, passed away. He was surrounded by people that he loves and took his last breath in the hospital. I was too young to vividly remember any of this, but between my Mom and my Grandma Bernice, I have been told about the miracles that took place while he was passing.

He was in and out of consciousness as he was going from Earth to Heaven. Just when they thought he was home for good, he came back to tell everyone about the angels that were surrounding his bed, the gates of Heaven that he saw with his own two eyes, my Mom’s dad, Martin, that he had never met before, and… He was greeted RIGHT away by his dog, Festice, who was more than excited to see him after many years of being apart.

I’m writing this with a smile on my face because of how comforting all of this is. It might be cliché when people say “this isn’t goodbye, it’s just see you later,” but is is SO TRUE.

Sophie was such an amazing cat. The pain of losing her is so hard, but I would do it all over again and still choose to have her in my life if it meant having 12 great years with her.

Sophie, today you went home. We’ll all see you one day, but for now, enjoy Heaven and know that we will all be doing our work here on Earth until Jesus calls us home.

Rest in peace, pretty girl.

We all love you more than you’ll ever know.