CARING CANINES. The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus appears in Luke 16:19–31. In this parable, dogs lick Lazarus’s wounds as he lies at the gate of the rich man’s house, longing for leftovers. While the rich man does not share his food with Lazarus, the dogs come to comfort him. Throughout the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world, dogs were revered as the healers of the animal kingdom. Thus, in this parable, the dogs are benevolent characters, soothing Lazarus with their tongues. The illustration of this parable by Gustave Doré dates to the 19th century.
