Aga Mirza Abu ‘l-Qasim (who was mentioned before also) has quoted from late Itimad ul-Waizeen Tehrani that during a famine in Tehran, one day Nasiruddin Shah Mir Ghazab Bashi, the executor, heard wails of some puppies near a water tank. He saw bitch that had a delivery and the puppies were clinging to her body, but since there was no milk in her udders, they were bleating and howling in hunger. Mir Ghazab pitied them and from a nearby bakery bought some bread and threw it before the female and stood watching. After eating the bread she got milk and the puppies started nursing.

Mir Ghazab Bashi calculated the cost of one month's feeding and paid the baker and told him to give same quantity of bread to that animal everyday without fail and if he missed a single day, he would be punished.

Mir Ghazab Bashi used to go out with friends for recreation and on their return they returned to a friend's place for dinner turn by turn.

Once it was the turn of Mir Ghazab Bashi. His first wife lived in central Tehran, where all means were available, while presently he lived with another wife in a remote corner of the city. He told his former wife to arrange dinner and said that a certain number of his friends would accompany him.

They went out in the afternoon, but returned very late at night. The friends said: It is very late and we are very tired. So we shall stay at your place, which is at the periphery.

Mir Ghazab Bashi said: There is nothing to eat over here. We'll have to go to my house in the central locality, because all arrangements are made there; but his friends did not agree and said: Today we will stay here only and be content with little food and tomorrow we shall think about the dinner you have arranged at the other house.

Mir Ghazab Bashi was compelled to accept this suggestion. He got some bread and Kebabs and served them to his friends, after which they went to sleep.

At dawn all woke up by screams and wails of Mir Ghazab Bashi and asked what the matter was. He said: I just saw Imam Sajjad ('a) in dream. He said: Your favor to that bitch is accepted by Allah and He kept you and your friends secure from death tonight, because your former wife had procured poison and concealed it at so and so place in the kitchen to mix it in your food. Go there in the morning and take it out, but cause no harm to that woman. On the contrary, if she likes, you may free her (by divorce).

Secondly, the Almighty Allah would give you divine opportunity (Tawfiq) of repenting and after forty days, you will have the honor of visiting the tomb of my respected father in Karbala.

So he told his friends next morning: Let us go to that house and confirm the dream. They reached there and the woman complained why they did not come last night, but they paid no attention and picked up the poison from there.

Mir Ghazab Bashi asked: What was your planning against us last night? If the Imam had not instructed me, I would have taken revenge from you, but I will act on his orders and do a favor to you. If you want, you can continue to live in this house and I will overlook your mistake. Or if you want, I can divorce you. When the woman realized that since she was exposed, she would not be able to live with him further, she asked for divorce and he freed her.

He resigned from his job as well and became engrossed in repentance and fulfillment of rights and after forty days was honored with the Ziyarat of Karbala and he settled down there till his end.

Effects of doing favor to creatures of God are mentioned in traditional reports in excess, even though it might be an animal, like a dog. Sometimes it so happens that the good deed earns righteousness and divine salvation.

There are many testimonies of this, including the book of Hayat ul-Haiwan of Dimyari. In that book, it is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) that a lady was traveling in a desert and was extremely thirsty. She reached a well that had some water. Somehow she climbed into it and quenched her thirst. When she came out, she saw a dog eating moist sand for its moisture.

It is mentioned in Hayat ul-Haiwan by Damiri that She said to herself: The dog is also thirsty like me. She climbed into the well once again, filled her socks with water held it in her teeth and brought it out for the dog. The Almighty Allah accepted that deed and forgave her.

People asked: O Messenger of Allah (S), do we become eligible for a reward if we also do a good turn to animals? He replied: There is reward for quenching the thirst of every beast.

It is also mentioned in the same book that the Holy Prophet (S) said: On the night of ascension (Meraj), when I entered Paradise, I saw a man who had watered a thirsty dog. When there is so much reward for a good turn to animals what the reward of helping a human being, especially a believer, would be? For more examples of this you can refer to the book of Kalimah Tayyiba by Haji Noori.