Rose’s soul is work

  I’ve been working for several years on my “Soul of A Dog” book and it’s nearly done, and every day, some dog lovers – usually very loving and articulate people – tells me they know their dogs have souls, no question about it. And they are going to heaven. People love their dogs a lot.
  If a belief becomes pervasive and widespread, it eventually becomes the truth, and that is perhaps what is happening here.
  To me, dogs have extraordinary and little understood instincts, such as reading human behavior and emotions in exchange for food and shelter. It’s a good deal for them, and, apparently, for us.
  I don’t know whether dogs have souls, or if they are going to heaven. I think their souls are evident in the work they do for us, the impact they have on us. Rose’s soul is work, and helping me live on the farm, Izzy’s is his connection to humans and his hospice work, and Lenore’s soul is getting people to smile and her love. I hope there is a heaven, and I hope dogs go there, but I often believe that this is what we need to believe, as much as it is the truth.