Dog is man's best friend, but ask any dog-lover and he will invariably say that their pet pooches are family. Showing such love for its deceased pet dog Brownie, a family in Bihar's Purnia district organised all funerary rituals otherwise reserved for a human before burying the deceased pooch. Now, the family wants to build a memorial to perpetuate Brownie's memories.

Himkar Mishra, founder of Summer Shell National Park in Ramnagar in Kunwara Panchayat, said that though he had kept a number of dogs for his farmland's security, Brownie was a clear favourite and like a family member. The pet, an Indian sheep dog, died of old age on Sunday.