All dogs go to Heaven... God told me that Himself. And cats too, but don't ask a dog this.

"So you think it's just a coincidence that God spelled backward is dog?," God asked me recently.  "C'mon, I gave you brains. Is the Pope Catholic? See what I mean?"

A little background: You know the author Mitch Albom? His first big seller was The Five People You Meet in Heaven followed later by The First Phone Call from Heaven. So this guy really knows, right? 

Now I'll let you in on a little secret... mine was the second call. I guess I kinda' won the lottery.

Ed. note: Confession is good for the soul. So, "Bless me Father for I have sinned, I wrote parts of this blog post six years ago. But that's ok, right God? ... God? ... God?"

And yes, I'll share that call with you, but first, a brand new, really cute dog (and cat) story:

From the Washington Post: Eight-year-old Darius Brown's sister taught him how to sew a bow tie. So he did, and when he wore it to school the next day, his school friends loved it and wanted their own bow ties, which he made for them. This small thing he shared made many of his classmates happy.

When Darius was 10, he recalled hearing of the  hundreds of dogs and cats left homeless in Florida and Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in 2017. Darius couldn't have a pet in his apartment but he felt for all those animals that needed new families. So he wondered if he could help them by making bow ties to get more attention in the crowded shelters when people came looking for an animal to rescue.

With his sewing skill, he made the dogs look hilarious and adorable wearing one of his bow ties. 

It worked even better than he could hope. "We never used bow ties before'" said one worker, "and right away we saw a big difference."

Today, Darius is 14 and has made and donated more than 600 bow ties to shelters in eight states. 

"Polka-dot ties, stripped ties, ties with rhinestones... every tie is different," he says. "Even something small like a tie can help an animal get adopted because a bow tie is unique and helps bring out a pet's personality."

Like I told you, I got that second phone call from heaven. Yes, it was from God.

"Hi Jerry. This is God."

"Oh, hi God. This is really a surprise."

"Well, if my guy, Pope Francis calls regular people, so can I. By the way Jerry..."

Then I heard all this barking in the background and could barely hear God.

"SHUT UP DOGS, I'M ON THE LAND LINE (of course) WITH JERRY!" 

And it became instantly quiet.

"Oh my God, God... oops, sorry... "

"No problemo, Jerry. If I can part the Red Sea, I can surely train these billions of dogs up here with a clicker. I will say though, it is taking longer than I thought. Where is Cesar Milan when I need him?"

"I thought he died just recently."

"Don't believe everything see on the internet, My son."

"So there ARE dogs in heaven, right?"

"Of course."

"May I say 'Hi' to Snert and Hagar and Gretchen and Alix and Abby and Tess?"

"You want to do it personally?

"Uh, not today God, OK?"

"Ha ha. Good one Jerry. OK, we'll save that for later."

"Whew!

"Hey Jerry, I gotta run now. It's my turn in Stratego. I'm playing Julius Caeser, Napoleon, McArther and Alexander the Great. Bonaparte is cheating, but we all know it and there is a lot of kidding going on. Just wanted to say 'Hi'."

"Wait God... are there cats in heaven too?"

"Oh, sure, but I even gave them  free will so not even God knows... I mean I don't even know what goes on in that brain of theirs. See ya later, Jerry."

"You got it God... Oh, wait a second... God, when you say 'later,' what do you mean?

Click. bzzzzzzzz

"God? GOD?

So, straight from The Horse's mouth, so to speak, great news for those of you who have experienced one too many sad trips to the Rainbow Bridge. We'll all be together soon enough. Hmmm, I wonder if God lets Tess on His couch?

All in all, nothing beats a good cup of memories... and coffee.