By: ELOISE WALTON
HUNDREDS OF dogs owners took part in an annual ritual in Masaya, Nicaragua on Sunday, where they pray for their pets to be cured or avoid falling ill.
A long queue of Catholics carried their pets, many of them dressed as babies or clowns, or lead them on leaches to pass by an image of a saint in a small town outside the capital, Managua.
While the priest conducts a special canine mass, the faithful thank the saint for curing their pets or ask for the dogs to be protected from illness.
“We brought him so he does not get sick,” said local resident Nora Espinosa, talking about her six-month-old Basset Hound, dressed in a football outfit.
According to local residents, the tradition goes back to the colonial period after the Spanish conquest.
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