Gail Haertel Leavitt, Animal Chaplain

Growing up in Chicago was always a misfit for me.  I couldn’t wait to go to my grandma’s farm twice a year in Eau Claire , Wisconsin .  I loved the chickens, pigs and cows, and the farm dog named Pal.  I just grew up in the wrong place!

I came to in Sebring , Florida in October 1999.  I am currently living on a non working farm with a pig, a horse, a goat, six dogs, one cat and a lot of chickens.

While sitting in church one Sunday about three years ago I reread the passage Romans 8:19-22 and thought “boy this really seems to allude to the fact that animals go to Heaven.”

In May, 2007 I went to a retreat at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab , Utah .  About three weeks after I came home I received an email from Best Friends with a link to www.animalclergy.com.  I clicked the link, took the course and in the process read eighteen books, many of which were about the eternal life of animals, and met Chaplain Nancy Cronk.  I quickly adopted the stance that animals go to heaven from the Biblical proof presented.  After completion Of the course I went online to order some books from www.creatures.com.  The author Mary Buddmeyer Porter encouraged me to start an animal ministry in Sebring.  This is how Heavens Gates started. 

It is my desire to bring to light the biblical references that establish that animals go to Heaven.  I also perform Memorial Services for animals and bereavement counseling for their owners.  I love God’s creatures and His creation and want to pass that along to others.

Malka Hardt
Animals have always been my best friends.  Other kids were okay, but animals never teased me or made me feel bad about myself.  Quite to the contrary.  I had accepted my animals views of myself, I would be a totally different persont today.  Wouldn’t we all be?

As I grew older and a little more thoughtful, I found it difficult to ascribe to any of the traditional religions. How could God not allow animals to share our joy in heaven when they had brought us such joy on earth? Are they not His creatures as are we? Could Heaven truly be Heaven without my most beloved friends? Can anyone who has had a pet and looked into his/her eyes during a time of crises deny that there is a soul there?

Through research and study of Biblical passages, I finally found my answer. It has been of great comfort to me. It is through Heavens Gates ministry that I not only hope to spread the knowledge that animals have eternal souls but to advocate their rights while under the dominion of man.

Donnalee Hilden
Deep in my heart I have always known that animals have souls.  I’ll never forget the day my parents called animal control to give away our cat, just because she had had kittens. At that time I knew that I would try to help animals for the rest of my life.  Though animal’s lives are much shorter than ours they are not less valuable.  Animals have a right to fair and humane treatment. 

When our animal companions die, we grieve, and it is a great comfort to me to know that my four legged friends will be waiting for me in Heaven. So many people who love and lost their animal companions do not realize that and it increases the intensity of their grief. This ministry is a needed vehicle to reach and comfort them. It is also a platform to speak out, in unity, against the cruelty that is all too often displayed by man toward the hapless creatures we have power over.