A dog believed to be the reincarnation of a wealthy land-owner was given a suitably expensive and colourful funeral procession when it died.

More than 300 Buddhist devotees participated in the religious ceremony for the pooch in Surin province, northeast Thailand, on January 17.

The pet dog named Auan was eight-years-old when it succumbed to disease last week.

Its owner, Phra Tom, had a special coffin made for his beloved pet and decorated it in neon-coloured paint and fabric.

He said he wanted a memorable funeral for the dog as he grew attached of the pooch after years of taking care of it.

Phra Tom, who is a Buddhist monk, said: ‘I had him since he was a puppy and was like a best friend to me. I want to remember our memories this way.’

In addition, a neighbour had told him about a bizarre dream where he had visions of the dog prancing around town, dressed to the nines, in a previous life when he was a stupendously rich land-owner.

The neighbour claimed that the man cheated on his wife when he was still alive and was reborn as a dog.

The loving pet owner, upon hearing about the dream, invited people to make donations and the local Buddhist monks were hired to pray and chant at the colourful funeral.

Several neighbours also attended the procession which led to a pyre where they burned the body of the dog in a rite.

Monk added that they also offered flowers and food to the canine spirit so it would finally be at peace – free from the sins of its philandering past life.

He said: ‘My neighbours were kind enough to help us out with the funeral. We want to pay respect to the spirit’s passing so we did it in the best way we could.’