Behind the procession followed a dog, which was led in a leash.

When the mourners had reached the neighborhood of the Tower -- neither they nor any other human being but the bearers of the dead must approach within thirty feet of it--they turned and went back to one of the prayer-houses within the gates, to pray for the spirit of their dead.
The bearers unlocked the Tower's sole door and disappeared from view within.

In a little while they came out bringing the bier and the white covering-cloth, and locked the door again.

Then the ring of vultures rose, flapping their wings, and swooped down into the Tower to devour the body.

Nothing was left of it but a clean-picked skeleton when they flocked-out again a few minutes afterward.
The principle which underlies and orders everything connected with a Parsee funeral is Purity.