{"id":1320,"date":"2026-10-29T17:13:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T17:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/?p=1320"},"modified":"2026-10-29T17:13:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T17:13:45","slug":"kukur-tihar-brings-nepali-tradition-and-animal-welfare-together-in-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/?p=1320","title":{"rendered":"Kukur Tihar Brings Nepali Tradition and Animal Welfare Together in Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a saying, \u201cEvery dog has its day,\u201d and in Nepali tradition, that saying comes beautifully to life during Kukur Tihar. As part of the Tihar festival, dogs are honored for their loyalty and companionship with flower garlands, tika, blessings and special food. The tradition recognizes dogs not merely as pets, but as loyal companions and protectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mike-edited-1024x432.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mike-edited-1024x432.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mike-edited-300x126.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mike-edited-768x324.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mike-edited-1536x647.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/mike-edited.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That centuries-old tradition was celebrated in Prince William County, Virginia, during the 3rd Annual Kukur Tihar USA \u2013 Shelter Dog Gratitude Ceremony at the Prince William County Animal Services Center on October 25, 2026. The event combined Nepali cultural traditions with a focus on shelter dog adoption, responsible pet care and animal welfare, including a red-carpet walk for adoptable shelter dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukur-tihar3-edited-1024x472.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukur-tihar3-edited-1024x472.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukur-tihar3-edited-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukur-tihar3-edited-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukur-tihar3-edited.jpg 1350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The celebration brought together community members, organizers and civic leaders in support of animal welfare and the growing Kukur Tihar tradition in Virginia. Virginia State Senator Jeremy S. McPike and Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega attended the event, while a congratulatory letter from Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala F. Hashmi was also shared during the celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"584\" src=\"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukurtihar1-edited-1024x584.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukurtihar1-edited-1024x584.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukurtihar1-edited-300x171.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukurtihar1-edited-768x438.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/kukurtihar1-edited.jpeg 1118w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded by Jeevan and Himali Tiwari in 2024, Kukur Tihar USA celebrates the unique bond between humans and dogs while promoting shelter adoption, responsible pet care, cultural education and community unity. The initiative also seeks greater recognition of the centuries-old Nepali tradition in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From an ancient Nepali tradition to a growing celebration in America, Kukur Tihar carries a simple message across cultures: gratitude for our dogs should extend beyond celebration to responsible care, adoption and protection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a saying, \u201cEvery dog has its day,\u201d and in Nepali tradition, that saying comes beautifully to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_28862978113291940_720947087772779":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"facebook_28862978113291940_720947087772779","service":"facebook","timestamp":1793294063,"status":"success"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,8],"tags":[215,237,238],"class_list":["post-1320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-culture","tag-kukur-tihar","tag-kukur-tihar-usa","tag-prince-william-county-kukur-tihar-celebration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1329,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320\/revisions\/1329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechroniclesofnepal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}