Where Do Dogs Go When They Die? 15 Interesting Facts

One of the most frequently asked questions about dogs is the one on where they go when they die. In this article, we attempt to answer this question from the various relevant perspectives.

Where do dogs go when they die? One possibility is that they go to some sort of heaven. There are also those who may believe that the dogs undergo reincarnation, coming back as other beings. And then there are those who believe that the dogs’ existence simply ends when they die.

Ultimately, in answering the where does my dog go when he dies question, you have to make reference to the belief system you subscribe to.

So you may start by asking, where do pets go when they die? Then you narrow down on dogs specifically, and ask, where do dogs go when they die?

Someone may even opt to take it further and ask, when I die will I see my dog.

The assumption here is that one is making reference to the dogs’ souls or spirits. So the real question here is, where do dogs spirits go after they die?

But in posing the where do dogs go when they die question, there may also be those who are simply making reference to the dogs’ bodies.

What happens when dogs die – with regard to their bodies – is easy enough to figure out. In most cases, they either get buried or cremated.

But what happens to dog souls after death (assuming that they actually have souls) is what may be more challenging.

There are even folks who have gone as far as making reference to dog death astrology signs, in a bid to understand what happens to dogs after death.

What Happens When A Dog Dies?

In answering the where do dogs go when they die question, a good place to start is by finding out what happens when a dog dies.

So, indeed, what is it that happens when a dog dies? At the most basic level, what happens when dog dies is that its body becomes lifeless.

Whatever constitutes the dog’s ‘life’ leaves its body. The body remains, but without life. Its heart stops beating, The dog’s brain also shuts down completely. The dog stops breathing.

All bodily functions stop. The dog then eventually starts putrefying…

So, in basic terms, that is what happens to dogs when they die. Or to put it in more personal terms, that is what happens when your dog dies.

In biological terms, one may ask questions like, do dogs hide to die? Or, more specifically, do dogs hide before they die? And you find that the answer seems to be ‘yes’.

There are dogs that seem to have the ability to sense impending death. Then they may seem to hide, so that they can have privacy in the last moments of their lives.

What is more interesting is what happens at the point of death. So the question is as to what it is that departs from the dog, in order to make it ‘dead’.

This is where we get the idea that dogs have spirits/souls, which depart from their bodies at the point of death.

If we accept that dogs have spirits, that arouses other interesting questions. Those are questions like, what happens to dogs’ spirits after they die? Where does a dog’s spirit go when it dies? Do dog spirits stay around after death… and so on.

One may even wonder, does your dog’s spirit stay with you after it dies.

What Happens After A Dog Dies?

In the previous section, we were dealing with what happens when a dog dies.

Now we deal with what happens after a dog dies.

After all, in asking what happens when my dog dies, one is likely to have an interest in two things. One wants to know what happens at the point of death and what happens after the death.

In biological terms, what happens to a dog when they die is straightforward. The dog’s bodily functions stop. Thereafter, the dog goes cold. With time, it starts putrefying.

And if one wants to know, what do they do to dogs when they die, the answer is still straightforward. After a dog dies what happens is that its (now lifeless) body is either cremated or buried.

There are also cases where the dog bodies may be donated for research. But that may depend on factors like, how old are dogs when they die and so on.

Nonetheless, for most people, the real interest is in knowing the fate of dogs spirits when they die. Thus in asking, where does dog go after death, the real interest is in what happens to its soul.

So in that regard, for instance, one may ask, do dogs’ souls wander after they die? Or is there a special place they go to?

Thus, in asking the when dogs die where do they go question, this is the main interest.

Now earlier, we saw that in many cases, dogs go somewhere to die in privacy. And the death apparently entails the dog soul leaving body.

According to one school of thought, that is the end of the dog’s existence. But there are also belief systems in which the dogs may go to some sort of heaven, or undergo reincarnation.

Is There An Afterlife For Dogs?

In answering the where do dogs go when they die question, it is important to first find out whether dogs have an afterlife.

Only after that will we be able to answer the do dogs go to the afterlife question.

The truth of the matter is this: whether or not there is an afterlife for dogs depends on the belief system you adhere to.

In some belief systems, there is an afterlife for dogs. There are belief systems that will go as far as offering you some sort of dog afterlife proof.  And in some other belief systems, dogs’ existence ends when they die.

For those who believe that there is no afterlife for dogs, the rest of the questions in this sort of discussion would be moot.

For instance, the where does a dog go when it dies question is pointless, for a person who believes that a dog’s existence ends when it dies.

Even a question like can my dog see me from heaven would be moot to a person who believes that a dog’s existence ends at the point of death.

Of course, the do you see your pets in the afterlife question would also be pointless to a person who believes that there is no afterlife.

But if you believe that there is an afterlife (for pets), you can proceed to deal with questions like, do our deceased pets visit us?

Thus the answer you give to the do dogs have an afterlife question determines the trajectory of the discussion from that point.

For that reason, the belief in dogs afterlife is very critical. It is what determines the nature of the other beliefs you will hold, with regard to what happens when pups pass on.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die?

When seeking an answer to this question (on where do dogs go when they die), you are likely to encounter three types of belief systems.

The first belief system is where the dogs go to some sort of heaven, when they die. Therefore upon posing the where do dogs go when they die question, this is one of the answers you may get.

The second belief system is where the dogs undergo reincarnation, after death. Thus when you pose the where do dogs go when they die question, this is another answer you may get.

The third belief system is where the dogs’ existence simply ends at the point of death. So upon posing the where do dogs go when they die question, this is yet another answer you may get.

By the time you get to this point, you should already have cleared with ‘preliminary’ questions like, what do dogs do when they are about to die?

You should also be through with the question of what happens, at the point of the dog’s death.

So what we have here is a higher order question. And it gives rise to others: like do our pets miss us when they die? Does a dog’s wish after death matter? Does my dead dog know I miss him?

Other questions at this level include, do dogs come back after they die? Or, at least, will I ever see my dog again (especially if it was a very beloved dog)?

Ultimately, it is the belief system you subscribe to that determines how you answer the where do dogs go when they die question.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die Christianity Perspective

If you subscribe to the Christian belief system, the starting point may be, where do dogs go when they die according to the bible?

This is because with regard to the Christian faith, the bible is the foremost source of guidance for spiritual matters.

So, indeed, biblically where do dogs go when they die? The answer is that the bible doesn’t directly pronounce itself on this issue.

There are Christian theological scholars who, inferring from various verses, argue that the existence of dogs ends when they die.

Then there are other Christian theological scholars who, inferring from various verses, tell us there is a possibility dogs go to some sort of heaven when they die.

Christianity has two major wings: the catholic wing and the protestant wing. Let’s see what each holds.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die Catholic Perspective

For many years, catholic theological scholars seemed to have a simple answer to the where do dogs go after they die question.

That is because most of them used to believe that dogs have no souls. Therefore their existence ends when they die.

With that belief, the question on where will dogs go after death wouldn’t arise. Their existence would end the moment they die.

In recent times though, there seems to be a shift, with some Catholic theologians – including Pope Francis himself – seeming to suggest the possibility of dogs going to heaven after death.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die Protestant Perspective

Traditionally, most protestant theological scholars didn’t seem to pay much heed to questions like the one on, where do dogs go after death?

This is because they apparently believed that dogs had no spirits or souls capable of going into the afterlife.

Against that background, questions like where does dogs go when they die would be moot.

But now we are seeing a shift, with some protestant theologians seeming to accept that dogs have souls/spirits capable of living on after the dog’s bodily deaths.

Consequently, we have some protestant theologians who hold that dogs may go into some sort of heaven, after death.

Thus in a Q&A format, the whole issue becomes, where do dogs go when they die do they go to heaven? And the answer turns out to be ‘yes’ – they possibly go to some sort of heaven.

This is a shift from the previous position. Previously, if you asked, do dogs go to heaven when they die, the answer would be a categorical ‘no’.

In fact, even asking, will my dog come back to me after death would have been seen as ridiculous in certain circles.

It is similar to how, upon asking, do dogs have an afterlife, you would be told ‘no’.

From that point, it would be moot to ask questions like, when a dog dies do they go to heaven? Or will we see pets in heaven?

Even more earthly questions like, do our pets miss us when they die wouldn’t be entertained.

But that is changing, with more and more theologians nowadays entertaining the possibility of there being some sort of heaven for pets like dogs.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die Islam Perspective

Some Islamic thinkers seem to hold that dogs go into some sort of heaven, after death.

We also have some Islamic who seem to hold that dogs’ existence ends when they die.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die Hindu And Buddhist Perspectives

In the Hindu and Buddhist perspectives, what happens when dogs die is that they may reincarnate.

They may reincarnate into humans, who may then attain enlightenment – thus ending the cycle of births and rebirths.

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die Other Perspectives

Here, we may focus our attention on worldly perspectives on where dogs go when they die.

We may start with the where do dogs go when they die Rainbow Bridge perspective. This comes from a where do dogs go when they die poem.

According to this perspective, when dogs die, they go to a heavenly place called Rainbow Bridge. And that is where they stay, until the day of reunion with their owners: when the owners eventually die.

Going through the where do dogs go when they die Reddit threads, you see a mixture of perspectives. There are those who are pragmatic: telling us that dogs’ existence ends when they die.

Some just focus on the where do dogs go when they die at the vet aspect. And the answer, for the most part, is that they either undergo cremation or burial. A few may have their bodies donated for dissection by vet students…

Most people seem to agree on one thing though. They agree that the dogs’ memories stay on, in their previous owners’ hearts and minds even after death.

Final Verdict – Where Do Dogs Go When They Die

There are various views on where dogs go when they die.

One school of thought holds that when dogs die, they go to some sort of heaven. Another belief system holds that when dogs die, they may reincarnate and come back in other forms: possibly including the human form.

And then there is of course the other school of thought, which holds that the existence of dogs ends when they die.

All in all though, at the very least, the dogs live on as fond memories in the hearts and minds of their previous owners.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet dog a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️