Every year in the Guizhou province of China, a day of celebration known as 'dog carrying day' goes ahead.
The annual festival sees the Miao people of Jiaobang village dress a dog up in clothes, carry it around, and give it the royal religious treatment.
The festival has been happening for centuries. Based on local folklore, and festival celebrates the tale of the first settlers in the area - they were dying of thirst, and were saved by a dog who led them to a water source. This was considered to be an act of divinity, and dogs have been celebrated ever since.
So to celebrate this legend, the Miao people will dress a dog until in a tailor-made shirt and hat, and carry it around in a sedan chair.
The parade is led by a shaman, and participants throw mud at one another as a symbolic gesture to the god for peace, health and prosperity.
People will also gather in the street to worship the canine, and pray for plentiful harvest in the upcoming season.
The festival has just occurred in the Jiaobang village this year, and there's a plethora of photos of the pooch seemingly loving being carried through a river, while villagers throw mud all over themselves and one another:
People who saw the images online of this year's dog carrying festival were thrilled by the event's existence:
Miao people dres a dog during a folk festival in Jiaobang Village of Jianhe County on September 2, 2017. Source: Visual China Group / Getty Images
Miao people carrying a dog parade during a folk festival in Jiaobang Village of Jianhe County on September 2, 2017 Source: Visual China Group / Getty Images
