Dear Lord; My thoughts to you this morning come from a conversation I had with a good friend of mine regarding the pain she was feeling from the loss of a pet.  Thinking more deeply about the situation, it dawned on me that a great many people are very deeply attached to their pets (myself included… Take a look at my Flickr link in the sidebar for pictures of my dogs :-)).  They provide us love and companionship, and ask for amazingly little in return.  There have been many discussions over the years in a variety of Religious and Philosophical forums as to whether or not animals have souls and if so, when they pass do they go to Heaven, however I’ve never questioned that.  They touch our hearts and spirits in ways few other things can.  If in Your Great Love Lord, You have created Heaven as a Paradise where exists True Happiness, I firmly believe that any of Your creatures that so intensely touch our Spirits will once again meet us in that Garden.  Therefore Heavenly Father, today my prayers go out to our wonderful animals, and to Your children that love and care for them.  Amen.  ~Phather Phil