Fido Will Be Fine

Did you know The Rapture is coming this weekend?

Yes, the long-awaited day of deliverance to Heaven for Christ-saved Christians is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, according to some Bible interpretations.

Whether that will happen or not will soon be determined, but already there are entrepreneurs out there who are preying on the fears and concerns of the soon-to-vanish believers.

Atheists and other non-believers are offering “post-Rapture pet care” for the dogs, cats and other pets left behind when believers depart. Several businesses have sprung up in recent years in anticipation of The Rapture, and are offering their services so those who are Raptured can go to Heaven without worrying about the pets they’re leaving behind.

Now, I don’t want to sound facetious about this, because there are undoubtedly a lot of good people who truly believe in such things as The Rapture.

But I find it extremely ironic that Rapture believers would be willing to trust their beloved pets to be cared for by non-believers – even atheists – once they’re gone.

A recent story on msn.com featured Eternal Earth-Bound Pets USA, a company founded by atheist Bart Centre, who guarantees that a pet will be picked up within 24 hours of The Rapture and taken into the home of a non-believer where it will be cared for the rest of its life.

Centre told msn.com he’s lined up 44 contractors in 26 states who will provide loving home environments for all types of household pets, including hamsters and birds. Turtles and mice, too, probably, but I’m not so sure about snakes, spiders, weasels or wombats.

Centre said post-Rapture care of large pets – like horses, donkeys, camels and llamas – is also available in largely rural areas like Montana and Idaho.

So far, Centre said more than 250 people have paid the $135 one-time fee to have the extra peace of mind they’ll want on Rapture day. And the contract is good for up to 10 years.

Oh yes, and he takes PayPal.

Those predicting May 21 will bring The Rapture also believe the actual end of the world will come on Oct. 21. So maybe those caregivers won’t have to fulfill their pet care obligation for very long.

Which begs the question: If The Rapture doesn’t come on May 21, what happens to those contracts? My understanding is that the pet care services will remain ready and waiting during the 10-year contract period in case it comes sometime within that time period.

But isn’t all of this just a cruel, cynical joke being played on Rapture believers? Centre and others offering the service in the U.S. and U.K. emphatically say no.    

“I am offering them peace of mind,” Centre said. “We can commit to you that we have the resources and infrastructure to rescue your pet from certain slow starvation or thirst at just over a dollar a month. I do not feel like I’m taking advantage. I am satisfying a demand.”

And isn’t that what entrepreneurism is all about?

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