Dogs are having a ‘big day out’ with the latest craze in South Holland to take them along to weddings.
Man’s best friend no longer has a woof deal being left at home, but gets to walk down the aisle and even sit in the choir.
Meg, a four-and-a-half-month-old spaniel hearing dog puppy, is a regular at Crowland Abbey every Sunday and got top marks for behaviour at the wedding of teachers Peter Bellamy and Penny Marshall on Thursday.
Peter (26) said: “Meg was sat in the choir every week when we came to church for the reading of the banns and the first thing Penny did was say hello.
“She just fell in love with her and asked if she could come to the wedding.
“We left our Westie Tosh at home but he is joining us later in his bow tie.”
Choir member Rosemary Bristow, who fosters and trains Meg, said this was the dog’s first wedding.
She said: “I take Meg to church every week and she sits with me in the choir and Penny just loves her.
“She asked if Meg could come along to the wedding and the vicar agreed it would be all right.
“Taking Meg with me is all part of her socialising training.
“Everyone loves making a fuss of her and she’s very excited today – but she also has to learn basic commands and to behave.”
Duke, a 16-month-old border terrier, walked down the aisle at the wedding of Laura Brown and Jim Williams – son of Punchbowl pub owners Pete and Stephanie Williams.
The wedding took place at St Mary and St Nicolas Church in Spalding and Laura said: “We don’t have any children yet and Duke is our baby so naturally we wanted him there.
“He gave a little whimper when he saw me but he was really well behaved.
“When we signed the register he came and sat with me – we’d have had the cats there too if we thought they would have behaved.”
Laura met Jim when she was working at the Punchbowl and it was there that she first saw Duke too. She said: “A friend brought Duke into the pub and I fell in love with him.
“I kept on at Jim that I wanted him but he said we had cats and we couldn’t.
“But I went away for the weekend and Jim came to meet me he had Duke in his arms.
“It was a really romantic surprise.”
Duke now has a three-day honeymoon in Wales to look forward to. Laura said: “We couldn’t leave him.”
Couples can have Meg at their wedding or see her in the choir at Crowland Abbey for a few months yet before Rosemary hands her over to a person with a hearing disability.
Rosemary said: “She’s about to have her first assessment on basic commands such as sit, wait and heal work.
“Meg is the third hearing dog I’ve fostered and everyone loves her. People ask me how I will be able to hand her over, but I say it’s just like saying goodbye to your children when they go off to university.
“I cried for two days when I said goodbye to my last dog and I’m sure I will when it’s time to let Meg go. But then you start all over again.”
For more information on hearing dogs, call 01844 348100.