Question:
What is the halacha with regarding to playing and petting an animal on shabbos?
Answer:
A person can put a leash on a dog on Shabbos to alleviate its suffering.
One is permitted to move a pet to alleviate its suffering. See Chazon Ish 52:16 who permits for tzaar baalei chayim and a concern of a loss.The Az Nidbaru 1:79:110 explains that the Chazon Ish was only lenient when both factors apply. Although the Magen Avraham 305:11 says that the laws of muktzeh aren’t waived for tzaar baalei chayim, however the Eliya Rabba 305:18 disagrees with this. The Shulchan Aruch Harav 305:26 says that one can be lenient if it will cause great loss. The Mishna Brurah 305:70 quotes both opinions and concludes that one can surely make use of a non-Jew to move it in such a situation,See also Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchita 27:28 .
It is forbidden to place something on an animal or remove it from an animal on Shabbos, nor may one lean on an animal on Shabbos.
Moving muktzeh in a slight fashion, moving part of it without moving it completely, is forbidden.
The Ran 51b writes that moving an item in a slight fashion (Tiltul Bmiksat) is forbidden. See the Eliya Rabba 311:23 for this . The Bet Yosef 308:40 quotes this as the halacha.The Pri Megadim M”Z 336:4 and the Mishna Brurah 308:151 both agree and codify this as halacha.
Therefore, some say that it is forbidden to pet an animal on Shabbos. Others are lenient.The Shulchan Aruch 302:11 writes that it is permitted to wipe one’s dirty hands on a horse tail. The Biur Halacha quotes the Tosefet Shabbos who is bothered that it is moving muktzeh. Biur Halacha answers that perhaps the hair isn’t part of the animal itself and isn’t muktzeh. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (v. 3 ch. 27 fnt. 53) suggested that the hair isn’t muktzeh since it is designated for using to clean one’s hands.
A blind person can use a seeing eye dog on Shabbos,however with regarding to Holding a dog on a leash to take it for a walk this would be considered to be tiltul min hatsad.
One may kill an animal whose bite poses a danger to a person’s life, such as a poisonous snake or yellow scorpion.It’s forbidden to ride an animal on Shabbos. The Mishna in Betzah 36b writes that the Rabbinical Gezerot of Shabbos also apply to Yom Tov and includes on the list the prohibition of riding an animal on Shabbos. The Gemora explains that the logic of the Gezerah is that the Rabbis were concerned that a person riding an animal might come to pull a branch off a tree to use as a whip. The Beit Yosef 305:18 quotes the Rosh in name of the Yerushalmi that says that riding an animal on Shabbos is forbidden because of Shevitat Behemto,Some poskim codify this as halacha.One who mistakenly got onto an animal must come down because of Tzaar Baalei Chayim.
It is forbidden to milk an animal on Shabbos, as this is a violation of mifarek, which falls under the melacha of Dosh. It is permissible to tell a non-Jew to milk an animal for you on Shabbos because if you don’t it will cause the animal pain, but the milk is considered muktzeh for the day. If a non-Jew is not available one should let the milk go to waste so that the violation is only dirabanan which would be allowed to save the animal from the pain, and one should try to do it with a shinui. This leniency to allow a Jew to do it, only applies if there are no baby animals who can milk the adults. |