For fundamentalist Christians anticipating a call to Heaven on Saturday for the widely publicized and controversial Rapture, there is peace of mind to be had for the pets they are leaving behind.

According to Harold Camping, a Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Radio, 200 million believers will be raptured and taken to Heaven, leaving the “unsaved” population left behind until five months later, when it's predicted that Earth and the universe will be destroyed.

For those believers who are concerned about their animals' welfare during that period, atheist Bart Centre is offering a policy of sorts that provides Rapture believers reassurance—even if Camping's particular prediction is incorrect.

“We started Eternal Earth-Bound Pets in June 2009, so it's not related to Mr. Camping's latest prophecy, although it's been a boon to me,” says Centre. “I started in six states with a handful of friends and fellow atheists, and now we are in 26 states with 46 atheist pet rescuers. These folks are independent contractors who have committed to rescuing people's pets in the absurdly remote chance that the Rapture happens on Saturday or over the next 10 years.”

According to the terms of the agreement, interested policyholders sign a contract at a cost of $135 that essentially guarantees that in the event of Rapture, the pets of those who depart for Heaven will be adopted by those left behind—all within 24 hours.

“The contract is good for any Rapture from now until the end of their contract term, which is 10 years,” says Centre. “That's about $1 a month for 10 year coverage peace of mind.”

According to Centre, all animal caretakers go through a criminal background check, a credit check, and then must guarantee their presence on Earth post-Rapture by agreeing to commit a particular kind of sin.

“We ask that rescuers blaspheme in accordance with Mark 3:29, which states, 'But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.'”

Apparently business is picking up due to recent publicity. “We have 259 clients to date,” says Centre. “From January through March 2011, we saw a 27 percent increase over the same period in 2010, and in April through [May 20] we're up 45 percent over last year during the same period.”

In terms of public response to his business, Centre reports a bit of a mixed bag.

“I get many emails from atheists who want to be rescuers, and I get emails from Episcopal and Catholic Christians who are congratulatory because they are non-believers in the Rapture and they think that what I'm doing is very funny and they wish me luck,” he says. “And of course I get emails from Christian believers who are quite antagonized by my offering, and they feel I am making fun of their beliefs and that I'm going to hell and that I'd better come to Jesus. We get some threats, some bad language, but it's all in a day's work.”

In the end (so to speak), there is still a contractual promise to uphold, and it's something that Centre says he intends to honor for the largely fundamentalist evangelical Christians who are buying his policies.

“Whether someone wants to say it's a joke or that I'm trying to make a cynical point about religion, the point is I have clients and we've made almost $35,000, so we're taking it seriously,” he says. “We have an infrastructure and a process in place by which our rescuers would be called into action if the Rapture occurs. Rescuers have been confirmed to have the wherewithal and income to afford these pets, and everything we say we will do, we will do.”

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