Before you let your dog give you a big slobbery kiss, you might want to hear what an Ontario researcher has found.For years, the myth has circulated that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's - popular Discovery Channel show Mythbusters even deemed it plausible.
But Scott Weese at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College says that isn't true.
What's most interesting is how Weese came to this discovery. A new, cutting-edge DNA sequencing machine is behind the findings and being used to dispel some public health myths in the process.
When Weese and his team looked at saliva samples from dogs, they found more than 100 species of microbes, which is comparable to what can be found in the human mouth.
"I'd say the idea that a dog's mouth is cleaner is a myth," Weese said in a news release issued by the university.
Using the printer-sized DNA sequencer, Weese also researched the flora of horse stomachs (He didn't mention, however, if a horse mouth is cleaner than a human's).
The DNA sequencer stands out against similar machines because of its ability to speed up the analysis process. It can tell the researcher which species of bacteria are present in samples, as well as search for multiple kinds of microbes at once, which is something previous machines were unable to do.
The DNA sequencer will be located in a new facility at the college opening this fall.
According to Islam:
It is NOT haraam to touch a dog. If the saliva of a dog touches you or any part of your clothing, then it is required of you to wash the body part touched and the item of clothing touched by the dogs mouth or snout.
The dog is mentioned in the Qur'an several times, for instance as a companion of the Dwellers of the Cave. According to the majority of Sunni scholars, dogs can be owned by farmers, hunters, and shepherds, for the purpose of hunting and guarding; the Qur'an states that it is permissible to eat what trained dogs catch. Among the Bedouin, the saluki dogs are cherished as companions and allowed in the tents.
Nevertheless, many Islamic teachers state dogs should be considered unclean and that Muslims licked by them must perform ritual purification. According to a Sunni Islam Hadith, a plate that a dog has used for feeding must be washed seven times, including once with clean sand mixed with the water, before a person may eat from it.
