Fans Of Beloved 'Peace Dog' Get Paws-itive Update After Surgery

Pet owners offered support for Aloka, a rescue dog who has joined Buddhist monks on a 2,300-mile "Walk for Peace."

A rescue dog who joined a group of Buddhist monks on a 120-day, 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace” is “recovering well” and will be back on the road as soon as possible following a successful knee surgery on Monday.

Known to hundreds of thousands of internet fans as “Aloka the Peace Dog,” the Indian pariah dog has been embraced along the route since the start of the walk in Fort Worth, Texas, back in October.

Aloka, whose name means “divine light” in Sanskrit, first met the group’s leader, Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, as a stray during a similar peace-promoting trek across India in 2022. He remained with the group even as he recovered from an illness, walking hundreds of miles from the Indian city of Kolkata to the country’s border with Nepal, The Associated Press reported.

The monks’ pilgrimage has, thus far, traversed multiple states. They are expected to wrap up their trek next month in Washington, D.C., where they plan to ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s birthday and enlightenment as a federal holiday.

On Monday, the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center in South Carolina announced that Aloka had been diagnosed with an injury in his right knee and that an operation would relieve his pain and give him the best possible chance to continue the journey. It’s unclear how the dog suffered the injury. (Note: The beloved canine has taken breaks during the walk and enjoyed parts of the journey in a vehicle accompanying the monks, including on one occasion due to “biting cold” and “growing crowds” in Georgia.)