Buddhist monks were joined by students as they said prayers for a university's mascot dog at the spot where it was killed on the roadside.

The religious figures were paying tribute to the stray pooch named 'Tia', meaning 'Shorty' in English, which had been adopted by the Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand.

Students and lecturers would feed the animal while it wandered around the grounds of the higher education establishment.

However, Tia went missing on Tuesday (May 5) and his body was found dead two days later on Thursday (May 7) on the side of a road.

Police said that the dog was killed by a car in an accident after being struck from behind and flung into the bushes.

Devastated students joined Buddhist monks as they said prayers for Tia, lit incense sticks and made offerings at the roadside.

Chiang Mai University students also said they plan to build a statue dedicated to the memory of the dog.

Local police chief Colonel Kittipong Petmunee said investigators ruled that Tia had been run over by a car. Kittipong said wounds on Tia’s body showed he was struck by a car from behind.