Will there be animals in heaven, and what will heaven actually be like?

Probably not, and I hate to disappoint the animal lovers. Things come into existence because there is a need for them: on earth, especially after the fall, animals were needed for work, protection and sacrifice. But in heaven you will be interested in God alone, who is so much more interesting than any cat or dog that he will take up a hundred percent of your attention. As for heaven itself, the Bible gives us little, and it is symbolic, so the two dozen or so saints and doctors who wrote about it are all speculating. Thomas holds we will rest in the beatific vision, seeing God in his essence for eternity and never growing bored, the way God contemplates himself. Augustine pictures more movement, going from place to place with new powers. Some of it has to be true, but the details are not defined.