Different religions have different answers to this question, and some devoted pet owners balk at the notion that their furry friends don’t have the same incorporeal essence as the rest of us. What do you think?

It most likely depends on your own conception of the soul and where it comes from, to start with. The belief that all creatures, places, and even objects possess a spiritual essence is known as animism, but it has fewer adherents than most major religions that dictate only humans have souls. If you don’t subscribe to any of these worldviews and simply go on intuition, you may have an answer of your own — especially if you’re an animal lover.