Dogs who fell in love while walking in a retirement home marry in front of 75 wedding guests
Dogs Shelby and Simba raised $400 for Michigan Humane with their wedding
Jewish senior living in the greater Detroit area
Dogs Shelby and Simba at their wedding
Puppy love can arise at any age!
Dogs Simba and Shelby took their relationship to the next level with a well-attended wedding at their meeting place: the Meer Apartments of Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit – an independent living community for the elderly in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Simba is an 8-year-old Cockapoo owned by Meer Apartments resident Jean Lutren, and Shelby is a 10-year-old Poodle/Shih Tzu/Maltese mix owned by resident Audrey Demak. The pups met when their owners started walking their dogs together.
Jewish senior living in the greater Detroit area
The crowd gathered for the wedding of Simba and Shelby
The dogs quickly bonded and sought each other’s company even outside of walking times. Lutren and Demak decided to organize a wedding for the puppies to honor the devotion between the two dogs.
Related: Vote for the winner of the 2024 World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest!
On August 19, Simba, the groom, married Shelby, the bride, in front of an audience of over 75 Meer Apartments residents and staff. The canine couple’s many supporters also helped bring the afternoon’s wedding to life.
Jewish senior living in the greater Detroit area
Shelby and Simba enjoy their wedding ceremony
Jennifer Staniszewski, program coordinator at Meer Apartments, and Marcia Mittelman, a Meer Apartments administrator, planned the dog wedding. Mittelman was also the maid of honor for the dogs, who had a traditional Jewish ceremony.
Shelby walked down the aisle in a crocheted wedding dress with a tulle skirt and pearls and met Simba, who wore a tuxedo vest, under the chuppah. Dog owners Lutren and Demak followed Shelby as the bride’s flower girls. Before enjoying treats and a custom-made cake, the dogs exchanged vows written by the Meer Apartments creative writing class.
Jewish senior living in the greater Detroit area
Shelby, the bride
Related: Seniors host senior pet adoption events to help older animals find a retirement home
This magical occasion brought great joy to the residents of the senior living facility and made Simba and Shelby Meer’s mascots.
Jewish senior living in the greater Detroit area
Simba the groom
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The dogs’ wedding spread joy among rescued animals like Simba and Shelby. Instead of wedding gifts, the canine couple asked for donations to Michigan Humane. The wedding raised over $400 for the animal welfare organization.
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