I must have been eleven or twelve years old. I know I was in “Junior Church.”
There was a wide range of ages in the room. I was among the older children. A little boy, maybe four years old, asked, “Will there be puppies in heaven?”

“Oh, oh.” Given my older-boy insight, I figured Mrs. Malecki was in trouble. I knew dogs don’t have souls; so I assumed, dogs don’t go to heaven. But if she tells the little boy that, he might not want to go to heaven.

I admired then, and still do, her swift answer. “If it takes a puppy to make a little boy happy, there will be puppies in heaven.”

Bravo, Mrs. Malecki. Furthermore, after having read the Bible more, reading about a new heaven and new earth; I expect there will be puppies in heaven.