Sean, I haven't read all the answers posted about your question but I'm glad you rejected the theories of Drusilla and I hope you do also the same with Gwain's. If you haven't yet decided for yourself please consider what I have to tell you

"Do Animals have Souls?"

The simple answer is yes.

The view that we are different from animals in anyway (save obvious differences between all animals) is completely wrong! It is an opinion/belief that was, and still is, born out of arrogance and ignorance.

There two main reason why people wrongly believe that we are superior to animals or unique from them in this sense,

Scientifically people are misinformed and do not know the truth. It is fact that the physical parts of the brain known to be responsible for 'emotions' exist exactly the same in all mammals - we are not unique with this. It is only the matter which dictates level of intelligence that differs between all animals - including us.

Spiritually there is no reason to think that we are unique from other mammals of this planet. Although one question could be asked, is there another tipe of difference? The connections to our spiritual selves seems to be greater in animals than in humans.

Souls (as you call them) flow through all life. Our "spirits" or our "spiritual selves" is thought of to be our truest selves, who we are, and our guide of right and wrong, good and evil. Just as evil men are considered to be without a soul. They are actually just more disconnected from their souls,

With this in mind maybe the question should not be do animals have spirits or souls like us. The question should be, do we have souls and spirits like theirs. It seems that it is humans that are inferior to animals when it comes to matters of the soul.

Animals are not so disconnected from their souls like us, which is why they haven't followed our paths of evil. Animals have not stood against there own creator. It is not animals that have lost their sense of what is right and wrong what is truth and what is false. It is humans that have created hell on earth and still to this day destroy all the divine creations blessed to this planet. Plants, animals and other humans all suffer because of the evil that rules humanity.

Animals have souls! This should not be under question. Rather if we are to wonder about souless creatures we should look at humans to be far more likely suspects.