Does God prohibit cats and dogs as pets? (Leviticus 7, 11)

This may seem silly but I do not mean it to be. I mean it as a real question.

According to Leviticus 7:21 anyone who touches an unclean beast and partakes of the peace offering will be cut off from His people. Does this indicate that even alive unclean animals should not be touched since it does not say a dead unclean beast? I thought that unclean animals were only forbidden for consumption and touching after death, but this verse puzzles me. 

I know The Savior rode a donkey,  but it was covered by garments and walked on garments/ palm leaves. Was that because it was unclean? I just do not understand Leviticus 7:21. Are we to assume dead unclean animals were meant there?

Last thing, in Leviticus 11:26, unclean livestock are said to make us unclean if we touch them, but it does not say when they are dead? Is it implied there also.

I have a dog I love very much. I have recently accepted and am trying to follow the dietary laws. I am unsure about touching unclean animals in light of the verses I have shared.

I am sorry. I know this is a lot, so this matter troubles me. I have lived a selfish sinful life and want to correct my path. —Ben

Shalom, Ben! Thank you so much for writing with such honesty and humility. Your question is not silly at all. In fact, it reflects a heart that is sincerely seeking to honor Elohim in every part of life — even in the seemingly small things. That is deeply precious.

First, I want to acknowledge something beautiful in your message: your love for your dog and your love for Adonai are both deeply interwoven. You’re asking not just as someone trying to follow rules, but as someone trying to live righteously in relationship — with Elohim, and with His creation. That reflects the heart of Torah and of the Gospel.

Understanding Leviticus 7:21 and 11:26

These verses do cause some confusion, especially when read in isolation. But when we bring together the whole of Scripture — especially, what Yeshua (Jesus) taught — and the way the Jewish people have wrestled with these passages for centuries, a more comforting picture emerges.

“When anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, that person shall be cut off from his people.”

Leviticus 7:21 NASB 1995

But the key point here is context:

• This refers to the ritual purity required to partake of sacred offerings — specifically the peace offering (זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים zevach shelamim) in the Tabernacle/Temple context.
• “Touching an unclean beast” here is understood by most Jewish interpreters to mean a carcass, not a living animal. That’s supported by Leviticus 11:24–28, where only carcasses make a person ritually unclean. Though Leviticus 11:26 doesn’t include the word נְבֵלָה n’veylah (“carcass”), the surrounding verses do.

How the traditions understand this

Here’s a summary of how this issue is interpreted across traditions:

Tradition	View on touching live unclean animals	View on touching carcass of unclean animals	Notes & sources
Rabbinic Judaism	Permitted, does not cause impurity	Causes ritual impurity (tumah)	See Leviticus 11:24–28, Talmud Chullin 122a, Rambam Hilchot Tum’at Neveilah 1:1–3
Karaite Judaism	Generally discouraged or avoided	Causes impurity; must purify before worship	Based strictly on Torah text, no Oral Law
Kabbalistic Judaism	Permitted but may carry spiritual defilement	Impurity has both halachic and mystical effect	See Zohar on Parashat Shemini; mystical impurities may cling via unclean animals
Academic View	Touching unclean animals is symbolic, not moral	Carcass impurity is symbolic of disorder	See Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger
Yeshua’s teaching	Compassion and healing override ritual laws	Spiritual purity prioritized over ritual forms	See Matthew 12:11, Mark 2:27, Luke 14:5

What Yeshua (Jesus) taught

Yeshua reminded us that ritual laws were never meant to override mercy, compassion, or care. He asked:

“Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

Luke 14:5 NASB 1995

Even the Sabbath, the holiest day on Heaven’s calendar, bends to the need for compassion — even toward animals.

When Yeshua rode a donkey, it wasn’t because it was clean or unclean; it was to fulfill Zechariah 9:9 and to show His humility. Nowhere in Scripture is the donkey condemned as ritually dangerous. It was used by patriarchs, prophets, and kings — not as a defilement, but as part of God’s plan.

So about your dog

Ben, your love for your dog is not an obstacle to holiness. It’s a reflection of Elohim’s image in you. Our Creator gave us stewardship over animals (Genesis 1:28) and made them companions (Proverbs 12:10). There is no Torah commandment forbidding touching a live dog. While dogs are not kosher to eat, they do not make you impure by touch.

In the Temple era, yes, carcasses of unclean animals caused temporary ritual impurity. But today, without a functioning Temple or sacrificial system, this kind of impurity has no practical consequence. Even in ancient times, impurity was not sin—it just restricted access to the sanctuary for a time. Impurity reset each evening.

Final thoughts

Your desire to walk in obedience is evidence that Elohim’s grace is already at work in you. You are not alone, and you are not “disqualified” by touching a beloved animal. You are walking the path of teshuvah (return), which is the very path Yeshua taught.

Let me leave you with these words from the Messiah:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

So we could say: “The purity laws were made to lead us toward God, not to push us away from His mercy.”

You are not defiled by your love. You are being refined by it.