A War on Two Fronts

Dealing with death by thinking about earthly and heavenly life

09/21/2025

Luke 16:10-13 Jesus said to his disciples: "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

You have probably heard by now that my dog, Apollo, passed away this past week. He had been struggling with pneumonia, and while he was being treated for that, we learned he had an enlarged heart. Apollo was, in effect, fighting a war on two fronts – in his lungs, and in his heart – which the Germans during World War II could have warned Apollo was not a winning strategy.

On Tuesday night, I took him to the Emergency Animal Hospital as his condition was worsening. But by midnight his blood oxygen level had dropped to 60 – it should be around 90 – and Dr. Stepmiller felt soon his organs would start shutting down. I was able to be with him and hold him as she first gave him a sedative. And after a few minutes, a second shot to stop his heart. And I felt like my heart stopped, too.

The only peace I could find was knowing I had been with Apollo when he passed, and that he is no longer suffering. I am reminded of the memorable lines of Admiral Kirk in the movie “Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan.” He said to Lieutenant Savvik: “How we deal with death is as important as how we deal with life.” If you’ve seen the movie, you know how Kirk’s words would come back to haunt him. Kirk would have to deal with the death of his close friend Spock. And Savvik could have repeated Kirk’s words back to him.

If Apollo could speak, and by the way, he could say a lot with his eyes, he said the same thing to me Tuesday at midnight: “How we deal with death is as important as how we deal with life.” And I think the best way to deal with death is first by focusing on the earthly life we got to live. And second by thinking about the heavenly life we will get to live. In other words, when we make death fight a war on these two fronts, we can defeat death.

On Wednesday morning I drove to Springdale to tell my parents about Apollo’s passing in person. Now, to be clear, they love Apollo more than they love me. And up until that point I had been strong enough that I didn’t cry when telling people. But when my mom broke down in tears, I could not hold back and sobbed like a baby. We celebrated Mass at their home and let the Eucharist comfort us. And over lunch we talked about Apollo’s earthly life.

My mom told me very wisely, “Instead of wishing for 10 more years with Apollo, we should be grateful for the 3 good years we got to have with him.” So now I think of how much Apollo loved greeting the school children arriving in the morning, how he chased those intolerable squirrels – whom the children have named “Taco” and “Burrito” – how he sat serenely in the back seat watching the world go by as we drove to NWA. He was a great shot-gun driver. When I feel gratitude for the good life Apollo got to live on earth, I can deal with death.

The second front to wage war with death is to think about the heavenly life that Apollo will get to live. Now, I know some people don’t believe that dogs go to heaven. But I find rather strong scriptural support for that hope. Rv 21:1 declares, “There will be a new heavens and a new earth.” Put differently, there will be a whole new creation, not just full of a redeemed humanity, but also filled with a restored cosmos, full of God’s beautiful creatures, especially dogs. Now, I’m not sure 100% sure about cats, but I am sure about dogs.

And what will Apollo do in heaven? Dr. Katie Hall, our school principal, told me in heaven Apollo will have wings and so he will be able to fly up and catch those squirrely squirrels. I mentioned that Apollo will be able to fly at school Mass on Thursday, and Dr. Hall’s son, Lenox, in kindergarten, came up to me after Mass. He asked: “But won’t the squirrels have wings in heaven too?” Now we know why Dr. Hall is so smart: her children teach her. Thus when I think about Apollo’s heavenly life I can deal with death.

I will never forget when Fr. Savio arrived here this past summer and I introduced him to Apollo. I wasn’t sure if he was a dog person. But he said something very prophetic, observing: “When a dog dies, it will be one of the hardest things you will ever go through.” He shared that he had a German Shepherd named Rinto who lived 14 years. He said he never got another dog because of the pain of that loss. He is definitely a dog person. In other words, Fr. Savio was saying to me: “How we deal with death is as important as how we deal with life.”

I hope you don’t mind me spending a whole homily to talk about my dog’s passing. But here is the reason I did. People often say that our dogs help us to be better human beings, and that is true. But I believe our dogs can also help us to be better Catholic Christians. How so? Well, Apollo taught me you cannot fight a war on two fronts. And even though Apollo may have lost the battle last Tuesday, he can help us to win the war. How? Because thinking about Apollo’s life on earth and in heaven, we make death fight a war on two fronts.

Praised be Jesus Christ!