The first animal to be domesticated, from gray wolves, 15,000 years ago, is said to be the dog, or "Man's best friend". Amongst the various roles dogs have performed, definitely, aiding the handicapped is remarkable.
However, there must a gene in the grey wolf that made this mutation possible. Besides, who benefited more from this domestication, the dog or the man? Moreover, one thing is clear: some dogs really turned lucky but some have become totally miserable.
As far as the history goes, we learn that in Nepal and some parts of India, dogs are worshipped. In ancient Egypt, the presence of dog's icons proves its religious significance. In ancient Greek, a philosopher is said to be living with many dogs.
In Zoroastrianism, the former religion of Persians, dogs were regarded as clean animals and people were required to feed and take care of them. The dog's gaze was believed to be purifying and it could repel demons. In Zoroastrianism, still practiced by some minority Persians, it is believed the bridge to Heaven is guarded by dogs. They and those who converted to Islam, still believe that hurting or killing of a cat or a dog will bring bad luck.
Although Chinese have been eating dog meat for centuries, of the twelve animals honored in Chinese astrology, a dog is one of them. Aside from what Jesus said about Lazarus and the dog that licked his wound, the status of dog, particularly in Europe and USA, is self-explanatory, as they are the lucky ones. Lord Byron,1808, the English poet in his famous poem, Epitaph to a Dog, said: 'Whose honest heart is still his master's own, Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone', …
Both Judaism and Islam consider the dog unclean and untouchable. In Moslem countries, all dogs, except the herding and the guard dogs, live a stray life. When cities enlarged here, the stray dogs moved to cities to scavenge garbage and thus their numbers multiplied. Then, municipalities paid some people to exterminate dogs, which continues up to present.
In streets of Moslem countries, when dogs see a passerby approaching, they put their tails between their legs and try to hide themselves as they expect the passerby to kick them in the belly or hurl missiles at them. The squealing sound of such dogs is common.
In Moslem countries, calling someone 'dog' is derogatory and insulting. In English a watchdog committee can consist of a person or group of persons. The late US President Ronald Reagan once called Gaddafi as "the mad dog of the Middle East".
Mark Steyn, 'America Alone', quotes Qaddafi of Libya as saying, "there are signs that Allah will grant Islam (the name of one of Gaddafi's sons is Islam) victory in Europe - without swords, without guns, without conquests". Today, 2/24/2011, the same Gaddafi appeared on state television and called foreign news channels "Kelab" Arabic for "dogs".