Yes, the intent was nice, and yes, it was well recieved, but that's beside the point. Responding as a dead dog from heaven is creepy. So is writing to the dog in the first place.
It's no wonder we have such a problem accepting death in our society. Can we really not explain death to a child? The concept is not that hard to understand, though the loss and reality of death certainly are.
Writing to a dead dog in heaven is...weird. We can explain to the child that the dog is no longer alive like we are. We can teach them that death happens to every living thing at some point. We can do so in a manner that respects the sanctity of life and reflects the beauty of the fleeting moments we have on this earth.
Or, we can pretend that our dogs are still alive in an unknowable place and watching us. And then responding in creepy language. Dead dogs saying "i wuv you"? Ew. No. Just. No.
I get that writing to someone who isn't there can have a therapeutic effect. I could see myself doing that as a way to express and understand my feelings and thoughts and pain. But that doesn't mean we have to pretend the loss isn't real, and that the dog is still with us in some sense.
This is one of the reasons I am anti-religious. Religion keeps us from being able to accept death. It keeps us scared of death. When you don't know what will happen to you after death, it's terrifying. There's a lot of possibilities.
For me? I'll just be gone. Actually, I won't even be gone. The awareness that is me will just no longer be around. (Awareness, because being self-aware to any extent is my definition of life.) Not scary at all. A little scary, though. I mean, I'm only around for a little bit. But damn, isn't that cool, though? Little bits of whatever makes up the universe assemble together to create a thing that can understand itself. And even better, live with an appreciation for just what it is.
You can't do that when you pretend dead dogs write letters.
Also, children take things at face value. That kid now believes that his dead dog is writing to him. I don't know, but telling that to a child is messed up. I don't think we should be lying to our children about some incredibly important parts of life. And children ask hard questions. You've now told the kid there's a dog heaven. Are there two heavens? Is he going to a different one? That kid now thinks he's never going to see his dog again. Want to believe it doesn't happen? Go ask atheists who were former believers, or even some believers, for that matter. These types of things are just wrong.
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