Bow wow vows: Marriage goes to the dogs

Mother of the canine "bride" Diane Hiku, with her dog Charli, wedding celebrant James Morris and mother of the "groom" Leigh Anderson with her dog Louie Anderson. Photo / Peter McIntosh

An unusual canine event in Dunedin at the weekend was less a case of it's a dog's life than she's a dog's wife.

At the gathering, Louie (7) a Maltese Chihuahua and Charli (5) a Bijon Maltese Shih Tzu were married shortly after 10.30am on Saturday, at the small dog facility at Shand Park, Green Island.

About 60 people and a profusion of small dogs of many colours, shapes and sizes watched the arranged marriage.

The bride was dressed in pink and the groom was resplendent in tuxedo and top hat.

Wedding celebrant James Morris did the honours and two pug dogs were the best man and bridesmaid.

Morris duly announced the time had come for some "bow wow vows" but the dogs, perhaps overpawed by the occasion, remained silent, and seemed reluctant to eat some dog biscuits offered instead of the usual rings.

The arranged marriage was the brainchild of mother of the bride Diane Hiku, who was inspired after seeing a somewhat similar event on the Housewives of Melbourne television series.

She and colleague Matt Anderson - father of the groom - decided to marry off their dogs in a televised wedding, providing entertainment for Channel 39 Southern Television and the ODT online.

"Unbelievable. It was a fantastic turnout. I didn't expect so many people," Hiku said.

People had provided cans of dog food or a gold coin to support two "great charities", Otago SPCA and the Dog Rescue Dunedin Charitable Trust.

Full details of exactly how much had been raised were not immediately known, but she was "thrilled" with the strong support, including a large amount of donated food.