Dogs in religion
These interpretations often revolve around the faithful and loyal nature of dogs, paralleling human devotion to higher powers.
Across these religious contexts, the objectives regarding dogs in religion range from emblematic representations of virtues like loyalty and protection to teachings on purity and ritual practices that will be discussed more on the article's contents.
[2] Stories of dogs guarding the gates of the underworld recur throughout Indo-European mythologies[3][4] and may originate from Proto-Indo-European religion.
Their presence in religious narratives and rituals has left a lasting imprint on the spiritual landscape, serving as a testament to the profound connection between humans and canines.
Dogs have a significant presence in Chinese tradition and folklore, not only in astrology and mythology but also in religious and cultural aspects.
[13] A black and white dog is sometimes used as an informal symbol of the Dominican Order of friars, religious sisters and nuns.
In ancient Egypt, dogs were revered and associated with Anubis, the god of mummification and the afterlife, often depicted with a canine head.
Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge explains that, "Egypt primitive man must have worshipped animals ... because they possessed strength, and power, and cunning greater than his own, or because they were endowed with some quality which enabled them to do him bodily harm or to cause his death".
When Zeus was a baby, a dog, known only as the "golden hound" protected the goat, Almatheia, who nursed the future King of Gods.
In the Mahabharata, when Yudhishthira reaches the gates of heaven (Swarga), Indra allows him to enter but refuses entry to the dog that accompanied him.
They are required to wear leather dog booties whenever they kept as a pet inside the Muslim homes, and also for when they enter and search mosques.
According to one hadith presented in Muwatta Imam Malik, he said that the company of dogs, except as helpers in hunting, herding, and home protection, voided a portion of a Muslim's good deeds.
For instance, the negative perception of dogs in some Islamic societies can be traced back to pre-Islamic Arab traditions and mythologies.
Some Arab tribes believed that contact with dogs could render a person ritually impure or bring bad luck.
[30] In the context of Islam, dogs are considered najis (ritually impure) by some scholars, but this view is not universally accepted.
One such sign is that an increasing number of people in Muslim countries are now keeping dogs as companion animals".
[32] There is a diversity of opinions among Islamic jurists, and many Muslims interact with dogs and other animals while observing hygiene practices.
[35] At the same year, the rabbi of Holon, Avraham Yosef, was also quoted as saying: “I do not find any grounds for permitting any dog whatsoever in any manner”.
The complexities of these attitudes by discussing how specific interpretations and cultural factors influenced the perception of dogs over time.
[39] During archaeological diggings, the Ashkelon dog cemetery was discovered in the layer dating from when the city was part of the Persian Empire.
A. R. George informs that "The divine addressee is eulogized with conventional epithets, asked to accept a food-offering, begged to show kindness to the field in which the exorcist is evidently standing, and encouraged to get rid of the Dogs of Ninkilim".
[48] Moreover, Robert Rollinger and his fellow scholars also noted that, "Sumerian and Akkadian texts often depict the dog in a very negative way, presenting it as a dangerous and unpredictable animal".
Also, Fenrir is a giant wolf who is a child of the Norse god Loki, who was foretold to kill Odin in the events of Ragnarok.
[56] The believers are required to take care of a dog with a damaged sense of smell, to try to heal it "in the same manner as they would do for one of the faithful" and, if they fail, to tie it lest it should fall into a hole or a body of water and be harmed.
[52] In the Vendidad, it is stated that the spirits of a thousand deceased dogs are reincarnated in a single otter ("water dog"), hence the killing of an otter is a terrible crime that brings drought and famine upon the land and must be atoned either by the death of the killer[50] or by the killer performing a very long list of deeds considered pious, including the healing of dogs, raising of puppies, paying of fines to priests, as well as killing of animals considered noxious and unholy (cats, rats, mice and various species of reptiles, amphibians, and insects).
It is believed that the original purpose was to make certain that the person was really dead since the dog's more acute senses would be able to detect signs of life that a human might miss.
While many religious traditions continue to hold nuanced views on dogs, there are instances of evolving and more inclusive interpretations.
For instance, in Islam, some Muslims have become more receptive to dogs as pets, recognizing the importance of compassion and kindness to animals as emphasized in the Quran and Hadith.
[30] In Judaism, the negative portrayals of dogs in earlier texts are tempered by an awareness of the responsibility for proper care and treatment of animals.
This evolving landscape of beliefs highlights the dynamic interplay between religious traditions, cultural contexts, and contemporary ethical considerations in relation to our four-legged companions, or also known as a "man's best friend".
