Article February 3, 2014 Issue

Pets and endless life

Tom Blair

Anyone who has pets knows what a wonderful feeling it is to arrive home and be greeted with wagging tails and welcoming purrs. The companionship, loyalty, and love shown by pets is indeed one of life’s great treasures. But what do we do when one of our dear pets passes on?

Several months ago our small 16-year-old dog, Hudson, passed away. He had experienced many wonderful healings in his life through our family’s total reliance on Christian Science. For example, when my wife and I were traveling in another state, our daughter called to inform us that she thought Hudson was passing on. My wife flew home, and we were both praying for Hudson. Through prayer alone, Hudson was healed. Years later, Hudson stopped eating and drinking. Again, it looked as if he might pass on. Through prayer alone, Hudson was healed and went back to eating and drinking normally at mealtimes. I am so grateful that the effectiveness of Christian Science extends to the health care of pets as well as to all mankind.

After the initial tears, I decided to pray to get a clearer sense of what the book of Hebrews in the Bible calls “the power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:16). The tug of loss was great—but loss of what? The qualities Hudson expressed were not confined to a bundle of matter or to any time constraint. Hudson was, and is forever, an idea of God. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Whatever is governed by God, is never for an instant deprived of the light and might of intelligence and Life” (p. 215). And because “All is under the control of the one Mind, even God” (Science and Health, p. 544), and God is Life, there is not one instant when an idea of God is ever deprived of life.