Does Obi have to wear a collar in heaven?

It's funny how kids deal with death. Tycen and Tanis have been very understanding and mature far beyond their few years when it has come to losing one of our dogs. They watched his health decline and they said goodbye to him for the last time, knowing we were taking him to the vet to have him put down. We told them we were taking him so he could live in heaven.

For days, and weeks, after, Tannie caught me crying several times. Each time I heard a three year old's sympathy. "Don't cry. Momma, you'll see Obi again in a long, long, loooooong time when you die". "It's okay Mom, Obi is happy playing with his tennis ball in heaven". "We all miss Obi, too, Mom". She has had pearls of wisdom for me each time I start to cry.

We should really take a minute to think about how kids deal with things with such maturity. It's as if the older we get, the less we understand, the less we can cope with the tough stuff. In times like these, I am amazed by my children. They mourn, but they celebrate life first. They would rather think of playing catch with our old Springer than think of him dying.

Today, Tycen came up with a good one.

"Hey, Dad, does Obi have a collar in heaven?" he asked Eric.

My husband chuckled a little and answered, "No, I think that he doesn't have to wear one in heaven."

"Oh," said Tycen, "I think he does. He's crazy and God needs his collar to keep him from being crazy in heaven."

Obi was a little energetic, to say the least. I would have to restrain him by his collar to keep out guests from getting a close up greeting, and possibly a good ol' fashioned doggie kiss. I would have to grab his collar to keep him from taking off to play with the neighbor dog. So, the answer, I suppose, is yes, Obi has to wear a collar in heaven.