Former Dogs Trust residents walk down the aisle
Two former homeless hounds have had their starring moment after they walked their owner down the aisle on her big day.
Kim Davies, 29, started working at Dogs Trust Bridgend 10 years ago and is now the Training and Behaviour Advisor at the Pen-y-Fai centre.
Ex-homeless hounds and previous residents at the rehoming centre, Maddie and Flea accompanied Kim and her husband, Jason, down the aisle as they exchanged vows and officially declared their ‘puppy love’ for each other.
Kim adopted Maddie, the Cocker Spaniel in 2008 when she was six months old, and fell in love with her high energy and zest for life. Kim and Maddie took up agility classes together when Maddie turned one, and this has proven to be a great way to channel her energy into something focused, and the pair have thrived in classes.
Flea, the eight-year-old Shih Tzu-cross, was adopted by Kim in 2009 after she fostered him at just 13 weeks old. Kim said: “Flea got his name as he was covered in fleas when he arrived at the rehoming centre, however he was soon flea-free but the name stuck!”
Kim gives full credit to her pooches for helping to win Jason’s affection after they accompanied them on their first date – a romantic walk on the beach. The devoted dog-lovers married on the beach in Swansea with Maddie as a flower girl and Flea as one of the page boys.
Kim said:
“The dogs are a huge part of our lives and we always wanted them to be involved in the big day. They were there for our first date and we couldn’t imagine having our big day without them by our side.
“Both dogs were fantastic on the day and joined us for the photos and a special wedding breakfast of chicken and gravy. Flea is a little poser and lapped up the attention from everyone whilst Maddie just wanted to run into the sea!
“We went to Las Vegas for our main honeymoon but we came back and went on a family-break with our little boy and of course, the dogs, to Pendine West Wales where we spent the week visiting castles, walking on the beach, building sand castles and swimming in the sea. They loved every minute of it – it was a perfect family honeymoon.”
Dogs Trust has been part of Kim’s life for 10 years where she started out as a canine carer. She sees first hand the amount of work that goes into caring for the dogs whilst they wait to be adopted and wanted to make a gesture to the charity in replace of wedding favours on the day.
Kim continues:
“We had Dogs Trust wedding favours instead of traditional ones as all money raised goes back to the rehoming centres to help even more dogs. Everyone got a dog pen to take home and our cake had dog figurines on it, so we really went for an all-out dog theme!
“My dad even mentioned Dogs Trust in his speech as he knows how passionate I am about working there. I owe a lot to Dogs Trust, especially for helping me to find two of the most loving, precious dogs ever. I really don’t know what I’d do without them in my life and I’m just so pleased they were able to share our wedding day with us. They certainly made the day even more special.”
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