# Dogs, cats and other that are thought in some cultures to ward off evil or bad luck?



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I think it's a great subject!!! There are superstitions surrounding black dogs (quite like black cats). If I am remembering my mythology correctly (it's been a few years) the hellhounds that helped keep souls in the underworld (Greek mythology) were large black dogs. I find my large black dog to be a great protector and affectionately refer to him as my personal hell hound.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## LeilaM (Sep 14, 2012)

Hi there

Interesting topic. I personally do not believe that dogs ward off evil spirits. Suspicious living human spirits definitely Although maybe not Golden Retrievers:doh:

That being said I lived on the Island of Okinawa Japan for three years. The island has a unique mix of Asian religions due to the diversity of people who have settled there. It is a mix of mainly Buddhist and Shinto, with a small amount of Christianity mixed in including a bit of Catholicism imported in from the Philippines. Most stores and many homes have statues of Shisa dogs which are placed at the entrances which are thought to ward off evil spirits. There are two on either side of the door. They are male and female. The mouth of the male is open to capture the evil spirit and the mouth of the female is closed to trap it there. Okinawans do keep domestic dogs as pets ( although my impression is they prefer cats) but I am unaware of any belief that they ward off spirits.


----------



## Pandy (Jul 21, 2013)

Hey there glad you agree about the subject matter : ) wow that's very interesting I forgot about the hellhound myth but I have heard of it before I think that black dogs are beautiful and that its quite awesome you have your own personal hellhound lol and yes black cats. I used to work at a cat shelter for a bit but we never adopted out the black or White ones during Halloween as people would adopt and sacrifice them ;_;

@Leila wow you are so lucky to have lived there and to have such a neat expirience i would really love to travel one day! thank you for sharing. I have seen some shisa like lion dog dbefore at a buddhist temple i went to for chinese new year my friend claims they are based originally on chow hows but I am sure they are just original made up dogs. However I think they are interesting and the idea of keeping a spirit trapped would be a little creepy if true lol but still cool c:


----------



## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

Interesting. I've never heard that about dogs but I do remember that Egyptians placed statues of cats outside the house to protect the inhabitants and to ward off evil spirits. And by "remember" I don't mean I was there, I mean from reading it in school


----------



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I find the subject very interesting, especially seeing how they are revered in different culutres.





> The dog connection with the gods and the dog’s loyalty to human beings is further explored in other cultures. In ancient Egypt the dog was linked to the jackal god, Anubis, who guided the soul of the deceased to the Hall of Truth where the soul would be judged by the great god Osiris. Domesticated dogs were buried with great ceremony in the temple of Anubis at Saqqara and the idea behind this seemed to be to help the deceased dogs pass on easily to the afterlife (known in Egypt as the Field of Reeds) where they could continue to enjoy their lives as they had on earth.
> 
> Clearly, the dog was an important part of Egyptian society and culture but the same was true of ancient Greece. The dog appears in Greek literature early on in the figure of the three-headed dog Cerberus who guarded the gates of Hades. One example of this in art is the Caeretan black-figure hydria vase of Heracles and Cerberus from c. 530-520 BCE (presently in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France). In Greece, as in ancient Sumeria, the dog is associated with the goddess in that both the goddesses Artemis and Hecate kept dogs (Artemis, hunting dogs while Hecate black Molossian dogs.


 



> In ancient Rome the dog is seen the same way and the well-known mosaic, Cave Canem (Beware of Dog) shows how dogs were appreciated in Rome as guardians of the home just as they had been in earlier cultures and are still today. The great Latin poet Virgil, wrote, “Never, with dogs on guard, need you fear for your stalls a midnight thief”(_Georgics_ III, 404ff) and the writer Varro, in his work on living in the country, says that every family should have two types of dog, a hunting dog and a watchdog(_De Re Rustica_ I.21).


----------



## Dexter12 (Feb 10, 2012)

I have black cats which are supposed to be bad luck or something? It's just silly in my opinion, it doesn't matter what colour they are they're all animals.


----------

