Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
My friend helps two elderly women (disbelievers), who are both physically disable to go out to do anything. They are her neighbour. My friend does their shopping for them, however they have a dog inside their house. My friend tries her best to avoid going into the house, by leaving their shopping at the door. But you see these women are very lonely, their relatives do not come to visit them, its just them two. They ask my friend to come inside to talk to them, in two occasions she went inside the house, in both occasions the dog touched her.
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let them honor their neighbors.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
There is great merit in visiting one’s neighbors, especially when they are sick, old, or need company.
Only the saliva and other wetness’ of dogs is filthy. When one’s clothes or body is affected by it, it is enough to simply wash that affected area (using one’s reasoned estimation) 3 times. [Hindiyya]
Wassalam,