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Melbourne celebrant Sarah Dobson regularly sees dogs – in pearls, bowties and tuxedos – watching their humans get hitched.
“It’s just wild what people dress their dogs in for a wedding,” said Dobson, who owns the Altar Electric wedding chapel in Abbotsford.
Sarah Dobson has organised a puptial fundraiser for the Lort Smith Animal Hospital. Toby the greyhound and Honey the chihuahua took part in a practice run during the week.Credit: Eddie Jim
“Often, it’s just the couple and their dogs at the ceremony. That’s how important their dogs are to them.”
For years, Dobson has wanted to do something to celebrate dogs.
So, when she heard about the soaring numbers of sick animals arriving at Lort Smith animal hospital – as the cost-of-living crunch leaves people unable to afford pet expenses such as medicines, surgical procedures and insurance – she decided to act.
Dobson has teamed up with boutique photography agency Dog Photog and will hold a special event at her Vegas-style wedding chapel on Sunday, August 27.
Honey the Chihuahua looked fetching at the Altar Electric wedding chapel.Credit: Eddie Jim
Aptly titled “Puptials: Quickie Nups for Loved Up Pups”, she hopes to raise much-needed funds for Lort Smith.
“We decided to join forces and do something really fun,” Dobson said. “It’s so silly, but it’s just for such a good cause.”
Dobson had a practice run at the chapel during the week with Honey the Chihuahua – resplendent in a white veil with a pink bouquet – and her bestie, Toby the rescued greyhound.
Honey gazed lovingly at Toby, but the greyhound played it cool in a pair of oversized, heart shaped sunglasses and a pink sequinned bow tie.
Dobson said most of the nuptials for the fundraiser would be platonic unions between best friends.
“We have brother and sister pups coming, family dogs coming along,” she said. “There are also some bromances between local dogs, which we are celebrating. We welcome dogs of every gender representation and paw-noun.”
Dobson said each ceremony would include glamour wedding photos and an official “certificate of muttrimony”. The union will be sealed with a couple of paw stamps.
Lort Smith chief executive Jennifer Fleming said that in the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns, the charity was still reporting a steady flow of animals arriving at its hospital. Some have potentially life-threatening conditions that could have been prevented with measures such as vaccination and desexing.
“We have seen rises in things like parvovirus in the hospital, which is completely preventable with vaccination,” Fleming said. “But it has really poor outcomes, particularly in kittens and puppies, without vaccination. Like you can see up to a 91 per cent death rate in kittens.”
The pet adoption boom during the lockdowns also sparked a wave of animals being surrendered, with some shelters reporting an increase of up to 200 per cent in the number of abandoned dogs and cats.
Fleming said catteries had in particular been hit hard, which had prompted financial support from councils and the state government to help desex animals for cash-strapped owners.
The Lort Smith hospital has also seen a concerning trend in animals arriving with seriously decayed teeth, which leads to infections and malnourishment.
“The main thing we really want to get out to the community is even though things are tough, don’t delay seeking treatment or prevention measures like desexing and vaccinations for your animals,” Fleming said. “In the longer term, it can have really adverse animal health outcomes.”
On the day of fundraiser, the wedding chapel will also be open for anyone to drop off old linen, blankets and towels that will be donated directly to Lort Smith.
Organisers will donate $30 for every puptial to the animal charity, while the nearby Doghouse Cafe, in Johnston Street, Collingwood, will provide free wedding-style pupcakes.
The event will be on Sunday, August 27 at Altar Electric, 299 Johnston Street, Abbotsford. Places are limited and bookings essential: thealtarelectric.com.au.
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