Dogs have a major religious significance among the Hindus in Nepal and some parts of India. The dogs are worshipped as a part of a five-day Tihar festival that falls roughly in November every year. In Hinduism, it is believed that the dog is a messenger of Yama, the god of death, and dogs guard the doors of Heaven.
In Christianity, dogs represent faithfulness. Within the Roman Catholic denomination specifically, the iconography of Saint Dominic includes a dog, after the hallow's mother dreamt of a dog springing from her womb and becoming pregnant shortly after that.
In Islam all souls are eternal, including those of animals. But in order to get to heaven, or Jannah, beings must be judged by God on Judgement Day, and some Muslim scholars say animals are not judged as humans are.
Recognized for their loyalty, service, companionship, and the special relationship they have with humans, Hinduism's reverence for dogs is expansive, as they are worshiped in festivals and appreciated in connection to a number of Hindu gods and stories.
Deities like Rudra, Nirriti, and Virabhadra are associated with dogs. Shiva, in his aspect as Bhairava, has a dog as a vahana (vehicle) (mentioned in the Mahabharata). Khandoba, a deity, is associated with a dog on which he rides. Dattatreya is associated with four dogs, considered to symbolise the four Vedas.
Dogs have a major religious significance among the Hindus in Nepal and some parts of India. The dogs are worshipped as a part of a five-day Tihar festival that falls roughly in November every year. In Hinduism, it is believed that the dog is a messenger of Yama, the god of death, and dogs guard the doors of Heaven.
Dogs in Islam, as they are in Rabbinic Judaism, are conventionally thought of as ritually impure. This idea taps into a long tradition that considers even the mere sight of a dog during prayer to have the power to nullify a pious Muslim's supplications.
Buddhism calls for compassion and forbids killing any animal unnecessarily. Buddhists also believe in reincarnation -- and many Thais see dogs as people who may have misbehaved in a past life.
For many Jews today, pets are beloved household members who are often considered part of the family. That is despite the commonly held perception that Jewish observance and pet ownership are incompatible. There is no Jewish prohibition against owning pets, who belong to 60 percent of American households.
Cattle are considered sacred in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and in African paganism. Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Israel, ancient Rome.
In Buddhism, dogs are believed to have the same afterlife as any other sentient being, returning to the cycle of rebirth until they can reach enlightenment.
Hindu teachings hold the belief that all living creatures have a soul, and that they are a part of the supreme soul. Therefore, all living creatures – both human and non-human – are respected similar to Buddhist traditions.
Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, would suggest that they have a place in heaven. In his remarks, as reported by Vatican Radio, Francis said of paradise: “It's lovely to think of this, to think we will find ourselves up there. All of us in heaven. It's good, it gives strength to our soul.
Philippians 3:2: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returneth to his vomit, [so] a fool returneth to his folly.”
Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Concern for the welfare of other animals arose as a system of thought in the Indus Valley Civilization as the religious belief that ancestors return in animal form, and that animals must therefore be treated with the respect due to a human.
It turns out that dogs were equally loved and praised in Egyptian culture. A large part of this comes from the religious significance of dogs- they are connected to the afterlife through Anubis, the god of the dead, and were thought to act as companions and guides to humans in the afterlife.
Islamic attitudes towards dogs
In Islamic culture, dogs are perceived as 'ritually impure'. Apparently, the Prophet Muhammad once said that dogs may only be kept for acceptable reasons, such as farming, hunting or herding. In these instances though, the dog should be kept outside the home.
They cite certain hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) to support their dogmatically anti-dog position. Angels will not enter a house if there is a dog present, says one. Another warns that a Muslim keeping a dog will lose out on some of the spiritual rewards from his good deeds.
The Egyptian god Anubis had a canine head, and this may be one reason why dogs in the Bible are never mentioned in a good light. Pigs were unclean, both ritually and as food (Lev 11:7), but dogs were the embodiment of gluttony, scavengers sent by God to tear and devour.
Hindu and Buddhist faith traditions maintain that the elephant is a sacred animal, a symbol of wisdom, mental strength, and earthly responsibility.
These are often represented as a rooster (greed), a pig (ignorance) and a snake (hatred). In the Pali language, which is the language of the Buddha , these three creatures are known as lobha (greed), moha (ignorance) and dosa (hatred).
Food is prepared as a spiritual exercise with attention to balance, harmony, and delicacy. Conscious eating is followed among all Buddhists. Buddha advised monks to avoid eating 10 kinds of meat for self-respect and protection: humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, boars and hyenas.
In Islam, cats are viewed as holy animals. Above all, they are admired for their cleanliness. They are thought to be ritually clean which is why they're allowed to enter homes and even mosques.
Exotic and non-domestic animals are not permitted entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unless used for official government purposes. Dangerous and aggressive dogs such as Rottweilers and Pit Bulls are not permitted entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under any circumstances.
Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse, which was deemed unclean. Furthermore, a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs could destroy their ecosystem.