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Religious association
Indra’s divine dog Sarama is mentioned in Rig Veda. Bhairava, the wandering sanyasi, a form of Lord Shiva, is usually accompanied by a dog or rides a dog that is his vehicle.
Dattatreya was the sixth (out of twenty-four) incarnations of Vishnu. He is usually accompanied by four dogs, which symbolize the four Vedas and his complete mastery over them. Khandoba is another incarnation of Lord Shiva rides a bull or a horse and is accompanied by a dog.
Several Bodhisattvas were believed to have been born as dogs.
Ahura Mazda declared, ‘No house would stand firmly founded for me on the Ahura-created earth were there not my herd dog or house dog’.
The Koran calls the saluki, a Yemenese dog, a ‘gift of Allah’, ‘alhor’ (the noble one) and ‘al-baraha’ (the blessed one).
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