Stray Dog Given Burial Honors After 18 Years on Guard Duty

Dozens of residents of an Indian city held a funeral for a stray dog that had been guarding their neighborhood around the clock for the last 18 years.

Image: A woman pours vermillion powder on the body of Sonu, a female stray dog, as part of a ritual before her burial in Ahmedabad

A woman pours vermilion powder on the body of Sonu, a stray dog that locals said had been guarding their neighborhood around the clock for the last 18 years, in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on December 2, 2014.AMIT DAVE / Reuters

Dec. 2, 2014, 1:24 PM UTC / Updated Dec. 2, 2014, 1:32 PM UTC

Dozens of residents of the Indian city of Ahmedabad held a funeral Tuesday for a stray dog that had been guarding their neighborhood around the clock for the last 18 years, Reuters reports. A vet said that the female dog, named Sonu, had died of old age.