“A four-year old Indian girl has married a stray dog in a traditional Hindu service — and it wasn’t

a case of puppy love at first sight.

The bizarre ceremony was prompted by an astrologer who told

the girl’s father that the ceremony would transfer the evil

effects of the planet Saturn from the girl to the dog.

The girl, Anju, had suffered several illnesses and had fallen in ponds, fractured bones and

burnt her hand in the kitchen, the father, Subal Karmakar, said.

…Residents of the village, mostly illiterate, enjoyed the feast but ridiculed the ceremony.

‘He is superstitious, but why should I care if he wants to waste money and give us a feast? I

enjoyed the rice, meat, curd, lentil and sweets,’ said Fakir Chand Durlab, Karmakar’s

neighbor.”