Man in India Marries Dog to Atone for Stoning to Death Mating Canines

NEW DELHI – Selva Kumar had been hounded for 15 years by the memory of a horrible act he'd committed as a teenager.

As an 18-year-old he had stoned and clubbed to death two dogs he found engaged in mating. He then hung their carcasses from a tree.

That's when his personal suffering began.

"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," Kumar told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

Kumar, now 33 and living in the southern Indian district of Sivaganga, could no longer take the physical pain of the "dog curse," so he sought the advice of an astrologer.

Her cure for his maladies?

"Marry a dog."

Which is just what Kumar did on Sunday.

In a ceremony befitting a beautiful Indian bride, the bitch, a former 10-year-old stray named "Selvi," was bathed and dressed in a ceremonial orange sari with a garland of flowers adorning her neck. She was then brought to the temple in Tamil Nadu to be presented to Kumar by members of his family.

Kumar, sitting beside his bride, recited his marriage vows, declaring, "I will take care of it until its death." Then, the "couple" was declared married.

Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.

The Hindustan Times reported Kumar's family hosted a feast — while Selvi dined on a bun.

No word on where the couple would honeymoon or reside, or whether they had registered for gifts.

The Hindustan Times, Associated Press and Time of India contributed to this report.