March 25th, 2008, from The Hindu
At a zen Buddhist temple in southern Japan, a monk’s puppy acquired an interesting trick. Eighteen month old black and white Chihuahua, Conan, joins his owner , Joei Yoshikuni, in the daily prayers at the Shuri Kannodo temple. Tourists marvel as Conan sits up on its hind legs and puts its front paws togetger in a posture of prayer before the altar. Conan picked up these motions in just a few days, and now Joei is hoping to teach Conan to meditate with him. Imitation is surprisingly rare in animals, and this reporter is impressed at this studious, if not pioius, pooch.
