Do Pets Love?

I was thinking last night while cuddling with my very affectionate puppy, my sweet cat purring contentedly by my side…do pets feel love? Oh certainly it can’t be denied that they feel attachment, but do they actually feel love? Then I was suddenly reminded what love is. It’s an action, not a feeling, as so many of us have come to think of it. Love is something you do…an expression…not an emotion, as they are fickle and constantly change. I immediately called to mind the scripture that is the very definition of what love is. Though most of us have heard a thousand times, in that moment I understood it in a new way.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” -1 Corinthians 13:1-9

Now when you think of it, our pets very often embody that verse in every aspect, except one. Pets do not know or understand evil as they are not created to comprehend moral truth. That is something specifically tailored for the human, free-will experience. Aside from that, it’s amazing how much we truly do experience love from our furry friends.

One could argue, I suppose, that animals do not actually choose to express themselves in this way. In other words, because they don’t operate in free-will it is not done with conscious thought, but how much more amazing is it that this is their natural tendency? I think it’s a great testimony to a God who created them with a higher purpose – to show us love, loyalty and friendship. Perhaps our pets are just another way we can learn about love and how to express it to each other. What an amazing gift, but then we are reminded in James 1:17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above”. So, to answer the original question, I say yes, pets do love, as they come from above…the place where Perfect Love originated!