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AFAIK, most Christians would agree that animals don't have souls in the sense that people (humans) do. Many would say further animals don't have free will. Thus, AFAIK, most Christians would say that animals don't "go" to heaven.

There are also strong implications that there will be animals in heaven (various verses about heaven mentioning them¹, heaven being a restoration of the original Creation which had animals). Presumably, these animals will, like people, be immortal.

I am not asking about any of the above points.

Are there any (non-LDS¹) Christian groups that believe that specific, individual animals will "go" to heaven? In other words, are there any Christian groups (not just individuals) that believe in the possibility of a human in heaven being "reunited" with e.g. a beloved pet, or that believe in any form of resurrection for animals?

(An acceptable "no" answer should cite sources from most major denominations.)

(¹ See Isaiah 11:6, Isaiah 65:25 and Hosea 2:18.)

(² An LDS perspective can be found here. However, LDS have notions about heaven that are wildly different from all other groups calling themselves "Christian". Accordingly, I am not interested in LDS perspectives.)

Matthew
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    In mainstream Christianity, the resurrection is understood as primarily applying to the flesh (the expression appears explicitly, in many passages within the New Testament). John's Revelation also speaks of a new earth, and a new sky. As such, an afterlife for all biological life is, in theory, not completely out of the question. –  Aug 04 '21 at 00:55
  • What are the "various verses" that give "strong implications that there will be animals in heaven"? – Ray Butterworth Aug 04 '21 at 00:59
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    +1 for how the question is well defined (contrasts animal vs human soul, specific instance vs. mere animals in heaven, focuses on mainstream heaven). My feeling is that most mainstream denominations leave this open, since I doubt there are Bible verses that even hint at the possibility since the Bible never seem to mention salvation history's applicability to specific animals (Jesus didn't come for individual animals, but only for individual humans). There will definitely be animals in heaven. If individual pets are recreated, it would be part of the recreation of heaven and earth. – GratefulDisciple Aug 04 '21 at 02:53
  • @GratefulDisciple "There will definitely be animals in heaven." Any scriptural references for that? – Only True God Aug 04 '21 at 03:05
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    @OneGodtheFather Most articles I read across denominational lines (such as here, here, and here) interpret Rom 8:21 that way for the presence of animals in general, not specific pets though. The third article includes a contra view. – GratefulDisciple Aug 04 '21 at 03:28
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    Since an animal has no spiritual dimensions it can be reliably reproduced from its DNA. That is to say, an identical animal to the one in question can be reproduced. But there is no 'personality' there. It is just animal. – Nigel J Aug 04 '21 at 11:33
  • @NigelJ, that's an interesting point, although experience also plays a part, and animals definitely have individual personalities (ask anyone who has a pet or works closely with animals). However, God could conceivably recreate some "historic" state of a particular animal's brain as well. In that sense, you wouldn't have "the same" animal, but a human wouldn't be able to tell the difference. – Matthew Aug 04 '21 at 12:49
  • @Matthew I have worked with dogs, intelligent dogs. They operate by instinct. Dogs lick my lips, not out of affection but it is a sign of submission to the pack leader. It is all instinct. Just as a spider spins a web without learning. Mummy doesn;t show it. It knows. Created Instinct. It's in the DNA. – Nigel J Aug 04 '21 at 13:18
  • @NigelJ, I'm not saying they're rational/sapient, just that they do have memory and that does shape their behavior. Just look at any domestic animal that's been abused, or trained. I'd be really fascinated to see an argument that trained animals aren't using learned behavior in some manner. – Matthew Aug 04 '21 at 13:37
  • Just my two cents: Biblically speaking, the one thing (among others) humans and animals have in common is that God breathed into all of them the breath of life. The one primary thing that separates homo sapiens from animals is the distinctly human ability to think in symbols, to attach labels to a perceived reality. We call those symbols, words. Animals can, of course, respond to words, but they cannot speak them with understanding. Both humans and animals can respond to stimuli in Pavlovian fashion, but dogs, for example, unlike humans, cannot tell themselves, – rhetorician Aug 05 '21 at 18:37
  • "I do not feel like eating, What's more, I will not give my owners the satisfaction of having me respond to a bell, as if I weren't a sentient being." Significantly, God also cares about animals. He provides for the wild ones, and he wants humans to care for domesticated ones. The last verse in the book of Jonah supports that idea, as do the words of Jesus who talked about sparrows, as do the words of Paul who quoted Scripture and applied it to Christians who preach and teach the Word, by saying, "Don't muzzle the ox whiles he's grinding corn for you." – rhetorician Aug 05 '21 at 18:41

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