Rabbi Elchanan Lewis
Question
Shalom, My wife and I recently got a small dog. Mainly for the kids to play with, Therapeutical aspects... We initialy let her in the house where she found a nice comfortable corner. A few days after, I decided she should be kept outside because it’s wrong to have a "Chaya Tmey-ah" where there are Mezzuzas, Teffilin, Sforim e.t.c. OK, So now she’s outside barking her head off at any cat she sniffs or goes by even at 2:00 AM :-) To avoid discomfort with the neighboors we thought maybe revert to having her in the house - at least overnight. Is there a actually a Hallachick problem with having the pet inside the home and how is this issue viewed from a traditional perspective. Thank you,
Answer
There is no Halachic problem to have a dog, or [almost] any non kosher animal for that matter, in the house. As you know bugs, spiders or flies are also non-kosher and [at least I] have more than one of each in my house…
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