[Veto!]

Pope John Paul II held a similar position, saying animals had a “divine breath.”

Indeed they do, in spite of "dog breath" having a rather bad reputation.

AS for me, I refuse to go to a heaven where I will not be surrounded by my pets who've gone before. Period.

[Slings and Arrows]

Amen.

[caddie]

I believe Thomas Aquinas addressed the presence of animals in Heaven in the Summa. Where in the text, I have no idea.

In terms of Divine Breath, I'm with you on dog and cat breath. Also, once my cat ate some broccoli and had some not-so-divine wind!

But he was a wonderful Burmese cat and he passed away two years ago... I miss him so much... hope I make it to Heaven to see him.

The issue is not whether the animals will be in Paradise, it is whether we humans will.