'Pickaloo' in Heaven

'Pickaloo' in Heaven

I've never been much of a sentimentalist but I suffered perhaps one of the greatest heartbreaks today when I discovered that our pet pigeon had been devoured overnight by a cat who had somehow gained entry to his cage. What hurt most was the knowledge that my negligence had led to his dismay. 

Pickaloo entered our lives by sheer accident just about four months ago. His family had turned our ceiling into their home one unsuspecting day and ere long the mother had hatched several eggs. We tried several animane (the animal version of humane - right!) means of getting rid of them, to no avail, so we had somewhat resigned ourselves to the excessive chirping and heavy legs annoying us until a permanent solution arose. 

Arriving home from a tiring day at work my mom ran to meet me at the door, filled with excitement. 'We caught a pigeon!' Fresh from the nest, Pickaloo was learning to fly, a bit unsuccessfully and was unable to make his way back to the ceiling. He repeatedly perched on my bedroom window, mid-way to his destination. My mother, observing his plight, got help to capture him.

Pigeon meat tastes wonderful, we were told. In fact just a few weeks before we had received a pigeon, already de-feathered and waiting in the refrigerator to be consumed. We didn't eat Pickaloo - in fact we gave him a name and he provided us entertainment. He birded (pigeon version of wormed) his way into our hearts and became one of the most loved members of our family.

Sadly, he died today. Or rather he was killed. By human error. He died because we all forgot to take the necessary precautions to secure him in his cage overnight. He died because we left him vulnerable to a hungry cat. I cried!

Will animals, like Pickaloo suffer because of human error and miss out on eternity? Will their lives just go down the drain just because humans sinned? Or will they have a place in heaven? I choose to believe that there may be a better place for my Pickaloo and all the animals who have been made to taste death because of humans allowing the entrance of sin into the Earth.