Do animals have a soul?

Animals are an important part of creation. They too survive physical death, especially those that have been loved as pets. Many years ago, long before I became interested in or even aware of this 'spiritual stuff', I invented a theory that we humans have the 'power' to give an animal eternal life. I figured that wild animals which have no human contact might not have souls and therefore when they died that was it, but seeing the definite and distinctive characters of our pets, I couldn't believe that they wouldn't have some sort of soul. They displayed feelings and affection just like us, so it made sense.

And guess what? That's not just my wishful thinking and it isn't too far off from what we are told happens. Our pets will be there, waiting for us. One spirit, who chose a special job in the afterlife of looking after animals there - especially ones that had been mistreated - said that there is a spiritual sphere especially for the animals, but that wild animals with no human contact don't 'survive' so long there, and their spirits/souls(?) go back into the 'melting pot of life' and are reborn - a reincarnation of sorts, I guess.

There are mediums who claim to be able to communicate with animals. There are several interviews on Bob Olson's Afterlife TV about animals and their souls. I know of someone, not a medium, who sees their deceased pets around the house. I guess many people do.

So it follows that we must treat all the animal kingdom with respect and care. This probably means we should all be at least vegetarian, if not vegan. I won't get in to the arguments here but I think that as mankind progresses, we will all stop eating animals. In fact I heard recently that in the UK, 20% of young people between the ages of 16 and 25 are vegetarian. That's impressive, and there's a huge surge amongst that same age group towards veganism. Nowadays we are also aware the 'meat industry' is responsible for a significant percentage of global warming, and that humans would do well to at least reduce their consumption of meat and dairy products for this reason alone. And in spite of what many people think it is also recognised by most medics as a very healthy, if not the most healthy, diet. Of course it is necessary to take care about having a balanced diet within veganism, just as in any diet. It's going slightly off-topic, but here is a fair and unbiased view: Jamie Oliver asks: Is a vegan diet healthy?

Incidently, there are those who may think I am being hypocritical: on the one hand I am saying let animals go free but on the other I am keeping pets in captivity! I agree that there is a fine line. However, my pets, like most people's, are loved and treated with care. They do not have to lay eggs or produce milk at an unnatural rate, and they are certainly not killed for meat. Moreover, and this is the bonus - by loving them and their responding with affection in return, they are gaining in spiritual attributes that perhaps otherwise they might not have. That is not to say that animals don't show affection to their own kind. But something of the good part of humankind rubs off on them.

I'd like to share a personal experience with you on this point:

Some years ago we had some dwarf hamsters. Now, dwarf hamsters are known for their dashing about all over the place and being hard to hold in your hand. However, one of our dwarf hamsters seemed very different. When we approached her cage she would jump up like a puppy and want to sniff our hands and be let out - wheras the others didn't seem to notice us at all. I used to have this thing whereby I placed my hand flat and palm up in her cage. If she wanted to come out she would climb on it like a lift! One day just before bedtime, I got her out and held her in my hand, close to my nose, to say hello. She licked the tip of my nose. So I stroked her head with my nose and then put it in front of her again. She licked it again and so I stroked her head with my nose again. This amazing exchange continued for about 10 minutes. I then put her back in her cage and went to bed. In the morning I came downstairs, and found her lying dead in her cage. I was devastated, after the touching episode the night before. But did this mean that this little hamster knew she was going to die and wanted to show her affection for me? Although she liked human contact, I don't think she had licked my nose or even my hand before. I will leave you to think about it.