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 famous Day of the Dead celebrationswhen even Fido and Tiger get a seat at the altars Mexican families have set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs.

Although the dead usually have their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of animal food can make things a little different.

The holiday has roots in pre-Hispanic Mexican 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 on October 31 to commemorate the people who died in accidents; it continues November 1 to mark those who died in childhood and then November 2 to those who died as adults.

Sightings include entire families cleaning and decorating graves covered in orange marigolds. At cemeteries and home altars alike, relatives light candles, make offerings of their deceased relatives’ favorite foods and drinks.

The presence of pets has taken off so much that October 27 is considered the 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, as is his life-size photo, next to a photo of Lizaola’s late father.

The orange-flowered cempasúchil – a type of marigold – is placed around the images, as well as candles and figures of skulls.

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

But because she has four other dogs, she can’t leave Taco’s favorite food on the altar; a sneaky puppy is likely to grab it.

For years, elements of Halloween have been mixed into the season’s festivities, and for pets, it’s no different. For those who still have live dogs and cats, it’s not uncommon to find a wide variety of pet Halloween costumes at pet stores, including “bad dog” costumes in the style of prison.

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

“We are experiencing changes in the traditions. It happens very quickly,” 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’ doctor’s appointments.

First, especially in big cities, the large family with many children is often a thing of the past, and couples who have only pets – called “perrihijos” or “dog children” – are now not uncommon.

“This is where you see these practices regarding death start to take hold,” he said. “They are no longer just another companion … they are living beings who have memories and whose memory must be remembered.”

But admiration for dogs goes way back in Mexico, where hairless dogs known as xoloitzcuintles were common before the Spanish brought their larger fur-bearing dogs 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 way to the underworld after death.

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

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

At first, there was some resistance in her family to including Taco on the altar, a place long reserved for deceased family members. But when relatives’ pets died, they came around, and “now it’s more dogs than people,” she said.