Nepal Loves Their Dogs so Much, There’s an Entire Day of Celebration for Them!

There are many reasons that I love this time of year. It’s finally cool enough outside for me to run around for hours on end and everyone is just as excited about all the pumpkin treats as I am – after all, it is MY favorite food. And to top it all off, it’s also time for the Nepalese celebration of Tihar where dogs are venerated for being … well … AMAZING!

The Tihar Festival is a five-day event that takes place in the fall as part of the Hindu celebration of Diwali. The first and third days of this celebration are devoted to crows and cows, but the second, known as Kukur Tihar, is all about the puppies!

Dogs have a super close bond with hoomans (doy, my people are my besties), so this day is all about recognizing the fact that dogs make the world a better place. …That and also in Hinduism, it is believed that dogs are the guardians of the gates to the afterlife. They’re also thought to represent the concept of dharma – or the path to righteousness. So, I guess there’s something to the whole idea of being the awesome person your dog thinks you are!

During the Kukur Tihar, dogs are adorned with tikas to mark their sacredness and garlands. Don’t they look GORGEOUS!?

During this day, dogs are empowered to give out blessings – so in addition to heap load of love, those kisses are also very auspicious.

Ah yes, hooman, embrace the power of the puppeh kiss!

Police dogs get a special ceremony as well!

I’m also told that the pups get heaps and heaps of treats and yummy food! (My kinda partay!!)

It’s so great to see these kind people spending a day to celebrate their special bonds with dogs. As a dog, I can say that special festival or not, every day with my people is like a giant, happy party. So, if you have a dog or know a dog or see a dog on the street, be sure to give them a big thank you for being so great – I can guarantee they will thank YOU for being great right back!