by Anike Jacobs

Nigerians have taken the ‘burial rites’ process a notch higher, if you don’t believe us you need to see for yourself.

A 15 year old male Alsatian dog was given the most befitting burial  at Oshifila street in Ikeja, in Lagos last weekend.

The dog, Dr. Papilo was buried with pomp in a 4-feet grave decorated with roses in its owner’s hotel in Ikeja.

A service of songs was held for him, an army band played at the funeral with gunshots as a sign of last respect for him while a condolence register was also opened for him at his owner’s resident.

The owner of the dog who owns an hotel in Lagos while speaking at the dog’s burial said “My wife and I stayed together for some time without a child. Suddenly, people started calling us Papa and Mama Papilo. The dog travelled with me to Jos and Maiduguri. While in Maiduguri, it was trained and used to hunt bombers. It was a unique dog. In the real sense, it was my first child. When I lost Papilo, I felt sad the same way I felt when I lost my wife. The dog was just too close to me.

“Papilo confronted armed robbers some time ago and gave one of them a serious injury. The robber could not run further, and was later caught by the police. Everybody knew Papilo in this area. I am missing the dog, and the other six dogs at the hotel are also missing Papilo because it was like their father. Here, we treat dogs like human beings. We give them the best food you could think of,” he said.

Also at the weekend, another Nigerian man chose to bury his late dad in a jeep 🙂

Not much detail is known about the burial but the photo has since gone viral!

Sola