Inverness 'dogtrepreneur' helps man's best friend join the best man at your wedding date
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Couples can be assured that their best friend will be a part of their big day with the launch of a new dog chaperone service, especially for weddings.
Highland "dogtrepreneur" Shirley Hastings (41), has provided couples with a worry-free way for the family pet to take pride of place in the congregation.
Whether playing a key role as a ring bearer, mutt of honour or just meeting and greeting guests, Ms Hastings, who runs Croy based dog adventure service Hiking Hounds, will chaperones couples’ dogs to their big day.
She is on-hand during celebrations to make sure the four-legged guest of honour is calm, happy and looked after. Her expertise in managing groups of dogs in her adventure business comes in useful when helping to pose the happy couple’s dog for pictures.
The idea for the service came from her experience at her own wedding.
There was never any question that her then four-year-old spaniel Sydney would make an appearance during day. The feasibility of doing this and arranging care for her dog is a problem she realised many would share.
Ms Hastings explained: “We were lucky in the sense that a family friend kindly agreed to take Sydney along after the ceremony for photographs.
"What we hadn’t banked on was it being the hottest day of the year. When he arrived I was so concerned about it being too hot we packed him off home with his doggy career just as quickly as he arrived."
With an increase in the number of dog owners since the start of the pandemic, Ms Hastings believes there will be greater demand for such a service and she has already seen some interest from clients.
She has started taking bookings for next summer’s weddings and hopes to help couples get those all-important keep-sake photographs.
She added: “Far from the really nice thought-out picture of the three of us on my wedding day we ended up with a snatched shot. Having a professional chaperone on the day to liaise with the photographer and ensure our dog was relaxed and happy would undoubtedly made it a much better experienced for everyone.
"I am essentially your dog’s very own plus one to your wedding.”
