Dogs? Haraam?

I am the mother of a child that is deaf. My son loves animals and during this critical time of rehabilitation, a dog would help him a lot.

My husband told me that if I get a dog for my son, he would move out the house. I just find this ignorant!!

I have studied agricultural business. I am very disturbed about the restrictions about dogs. This is my perspective:

- Hyenas and Wolves are part of the same family, how come they are not forbidden?
- Rats carry rabies and other more harmful bacteria. How come they are not forbidden?
- Chickens are omnivorous such as the pig. A chicken would eat the same type of poop than a pig. Chicken meat out of the fridge for 10 hours would develop more bacteria than a pig "salmonella".

How come the Prophet prayed while there was a dog next to him!!!

FACT: Canine owners are more likely to exercise regularly and to be fitter and healthier than their pooch-free peers. http://ow.ly/6hLws

Studies are now confirming what Karen has learned: Canine owners are more likely to exercise regularly and to be fitter and healthier than their pooch-free peers. New research from Michigan State University reports that people with canine companions are 34 percent more likely to get the recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week than are folks with other pets (sorry, kitties) or none at all.

"A dog can do more for you than a treadmill," says Rebecca Johnson, Ph.D., an associate professor of nursing at the University of Missouri and coauthor of Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound: How You and Your Dog Can Lose Weight, Stay Fit, and Have Fun Together. "When you interact with a dog, endorphins rise and stress levels fall. This emotional connection gives an extra boost to your workouts."

abuayisha wrote: ..uh, you did say goat didn't you?  Pet goat.  How nice.  My wife adopted a kitten about a year ago.  The cat gave birth a few days ago; with my wife acting as midwife throughout the night.  Our closet has been transformed into labor and delivery.

Lol! Yes I did say 'pet goat'. Its pretty common to have livestock as pets in Pakistan. We don't have any state laws against livestock in the cities. Even at Eid-ul-Azha people keep goats and cows in their garage, and even slaughter them at their residence. A lot of localities however are now starting to ban that. It has its pros and cons...

Congrats on the new kittens! The kids must be ecstatic! Its pretty common for cats to have babies in the closet.. our nieghbors cat disappeared 2 days before her  delivery  and was discovered with a litter of kittens in the husband's closet!  Apparently closets make the best feline maternity wards!

elisheba wrote: My dog will not go near my prayer rug. I think he thinks that it is my place where I rest. He stays about 5 feet away when I pray & he faces Mecca. I did not teach him these things. I need a dog for farming but cannot afford the $ 1000 to $ 1200 for a trained herding breed dog. So I have acquired him (for free )( a herding breed ) to sire puppies that I can train.

Thats interesting elisheba. I myself think that of all animals, the Human-Dog bond is unique! I have yet to see such a responsive pet. (I am also partial to Cats and Parrots.. have heard horses are pretty awesome too!)

Maybe it would be a good idea to have a prayer area which your dog can't access? Because drool would be considered impure.

In Islam its perfectly fine to have working dogs, such as for herding etc. I wouldn't worry about getting an expensive pedigreed herding breed... a lot of hybrids are naturals at herding! Its in their DNA.

We adopted a stray puppy some time back, and at that time we had a little orphan goat kid we were raising too. (The Goat Kid was bigger than the puppy but still on the bottle). The puppy would notice that Bambi was not allowed to leave the courtyard, we would shoo her back every-time the gate opened and she tried to run outside. Once, some kids left the gate and the Kid escaped, 'Lucky' the puppy went running after the goat and herded her in! She literally dragged the goat in with her rope!!! It was quite amazing! Nobody had taught her that, she just picked it up on her own! And she was still a pup! SubhanAllah! Amazing animals...









Edited by Chrysalis - 27 April 2011 at 10:25pm