MASAYA - Forget the vet - worshipers in Nicaragua appealed to a higher power to cure their beloved canine friends Monday, during an annual festival in honor of Saint Lazarus. Dressed up as angels, sports players, sailors and princesses, dogs in the western city of Mayasa joined their owners for a colorful celebration recognizing the patron saint of beggars and the sick. "I have come to pay tribute to Saint Lazarus to save my dog," said Rosa Blas, 18, holding her German Shepherd, Osa, in her arms. Osa had a fever and could not walk. The pets filed down the streets toward the Church of Mary Magdalene - among them Covu, an enormous pit bull in a Barcelona football shirt who settled near the church's pulpit. "He had an allergy ... I asked Saint Lazarus for a miracle and now he is healthy," said his owner Giovanni Gonzalez. And it's not just pets Saint Lazarus will cure - Nicaraguans ask for help with their own problems, too. "He cured my acne," said lawyer Daneysi Palacios. Meanwhile Francisco Cortes, 38, said his son was born covered in sores, but he was cured with Lazarus' help. Cortes arrived with all of his family and his dog - a pit bull named Alquiles - whom he said was also recently cured of diarrhea by the saint. - AFP