Pets join Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, as Fido and Tiger get their own altars

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pets are not forgotten during Mexico's famed Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs.

Though the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different.

The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given special burials.

But the inclusion of pets on family altars has grown in recent years.

Day of the Dead begins Oct. 31, to remember those humans who died in accidents; it continues Nov. 1 to mark those who died in childhood and then Nov. 2 to those who died as adults.

Observances include entire families cleaning and decorating graves, which are covered with orange marigolds. At both cemeteries and at home altars, relatives light candles, put out offerings of the favorite foods and beverages of their deceased relatives.

The presence of pets has gained such momentum that now Oct. 27 is considered Day of the Dead for pets and the National Anthropology and History Institute includes tips on its social platforms for how to include them in altars.

Mexico City graphic designer Meztli Lizaola makes sure every year that her beloved tawny-coated Chihuahua, Taco — who died two years ago — has a place at the altar on a table in the corner of her living room.

Taco's ashes are there in an urn, and so is his lively-eyed photo, next to a photo of Lizaola's deceased father.

The orange-flowered cempasúchil — a type of marigold — is placed around the photos, as well as candles and figurines of skulls.

Taco was an omnivorous eater and — as his name suggests — enjoyed tacos (especially roast pork) and other traditional Mexican human foods like quesadillas and concha pastries.

But because she has four other dogs, she can't leave Taco's favorite foods on the altar; some sneaky pup is likely to snatch it.

For years now, elements of Halloween have been mixing into the seasonal festivities, and for pets it's no different. For those who still have living dogs and cats, it is not uncommon to find a wide variety of pet Halloween costumes at pet shops, including inmate-style “bad dog” costumes.

Ethnohistorian Juan Pablo García Urióstegui says the inclusion of pets and Halloween influences are part of changes in the traditional holiday that have accelerated, particularly in the last three years,

“We are experiencing changes in the traditions. It is happening very fast,” said García Urióstegui, of Mexico's National Anthropology Museum. Now it's not unusual to find pets on airplanes, in bars and restaurants or even at their owners' medical appointments.

For one thing, especially in big cities, the large family of numerous children is often a thing of the past, and couples having only pets — dubbed “perrihijos” or “dog kids” — are now not uncommon.

“That's where you see these practices concerning death starting to take hold,” he said. “They are no longer just another companion ... they are living beings who hold memories, and whose memory must be commemorated.”

But the admiration for dogs goes way back in Mexico, where hairless dogs known as xoloitzcuintles were common before the Spanish brought their larger, furrier hounds to Mexico during the 1519-1521 conquest.

The pre-Hispanic dogs were often sacrificed or buried near their owners — or represented as carefully crafted ceramic figurines — because the owner would need the dogs' keen senses to find the path to the underworld after death.

Lizaola still feels Taco's absence. His face is tattooed on her right arm. The dog changed her life and that of her partner.

“There's like a before and after in my life,” she said, noting that Taco inspired them to get more involved in supporting abandoned animals and rescuing dogs from the street.

Initially, there was some resistance within her family to including Taco on the altar, a place long reserved for departed family members. But as relatives' pets died they came around and “now it's more dogs than humans," she said.

Meztli Lizaola shows off her memorial tattoo of Taco, her pet chihuahua dog that died two years ago, in Mexico City, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Caretaker Octavio Sanchez removes weeds from a grave site at a pet cemetery in Mexico City, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A grave marker identifies where pet dog Perla is buried, with an epitaph that reads in Spanish: ¨Beloved Perla, we will always love you¨, at a pet cemetery in Mexico City, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A pet owner poses with his dog in front of a Day of the Dead altar honoring the memory of pets that have passed on, in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fabiola Sanchez)

A pet owner shows off her pet duck dressed as a jack-o-lantern as they arrive to compete in a pet costume contest as part of the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fabiola Sanchez)

A pet owner holds her dog while sitting on an inflatable dinosaur during a pet costume contest as part of the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fabiola Sanchez)

An owner shows off her pet dressed as a Lotería game card during a pet costume contest as part of the Day of the Dead festivities, in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fabiola Sanchez)

Contestants arrive to compete in a pet costume contest as part of the Day of the Dead festivities, in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fabiola Sanchez)

Meztli Lizaola sets a figurine depicting her pet chihuahua Taco into a silver container to be placed on a Day of the Dead altar honoring Taco’s memory, in her home in Mexico City, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Meztli Lizaola and Víctor Sorchaga pose for a photo with their pets during an interview in their home in Mexico City, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A Day of the Dead altar celebrating the memory of Taco, Meztli Lizaola's pet Chihuahua, sits on a wooden piece of furniture, installed in a corner of her living room in Mexico City, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani province declared a health emergency Friday due to smog and imposed a shutdown in two major cities.

Smog has choked Punjab for weeks, sickening nearly 2 million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze.

A senior provincial minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, declared the health emergency at a press conference and announced measures to combat the growing crisis.

Time off for medical staff is cancelled, all education institutions are shut until further notice, restaurants are closing at 4 p.n. while takeaway is available up until 8 p.m. Authorities are imposing a lockdown in the cities of Multan and Lahore and halting construction work in those two places.

“Smog is currently a national disaster,” Aurangzeb said. “It will not all be over in a month or a year. We will evaluate the situation after three days and then announce a further strategy.”

Average air quality index readings in parts of Lahore, a city of 11 million, exceeded 600 on Friday. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.

The dangerous smog is a byproduct of large numbers of vehicles, construction and industrial work as well as burning crops at the start of the winter wheat-planting season, experts say.

Pakistan’s national weather center said rain and wind were forecast for the coming days, helping smoggy conditions to subside and air quality to improve in parts of Punjab.

Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, a professor at Jinnah Hospital Lahore and Allama Iqbal Medical College, said the government must take preventative measures well before smog becomes prevalent.

“It is more of an emergency than COVID-19 because every patient is suffering from respiratory tract infections and disease is prevailing at a mass level,” he told The Associated Press earlier this week.

A fruit seller arranges his stall in early morning as smog envelopes the area of Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Motorcyclists move slow due to reduce visibility caused by smog enveloping the area of Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Vehicles and motorcyclists move with headlights on due to reduced visibility caused by smog enveloping the area of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People cross a road as smog envelopes the areas of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)