Attendance has picked up at a Zen Buddhist temple in southern Japan since Conan, a chihuahua belonging to the priest, has taken to joining him in prayer.

Mimicking his master, priest Joei Yoshikuni, the 1 1/2-year-old black-and-white Chihuahua joins in the daily prayers at Shuri Kannondo temple in Naha, sitting up on his hind legs and putting his front paws together before the altar, according to an Associated Press story you can read here.

"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it, too," Yoshikuni said.

It took Conan only a few days to learn the motions, and now he is the talk of the town.

"Word has spread, and we are getting a lot more tourists," Yoshikuni said Monday.

Yoshikuni said Conan generally goes through his prayer routine at the before his morning and evening meals.

(AP Photo by Itsuo Inouye)