A young woman used homeless puppies as bouquets for her wedding instead of flowers in order to get more dogs adopted.
On September 9th, Samantha Clark, 23, got married in Iowa, and came up with a totally selfless and unique way to bring in the celebration. She had her bridesmaids carry puppies instead of flowers.
Her intention? To raise awareness among her guests about local homeless pets, with the hope of inspiring some adoptions to take place that day.
The puppies, who are a Chihuahua-Dachshund mix called “Chiweenies,” were from AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport in De Soto, Iowa and are about 8 weeks old.
Clark, a huge dog lover, said that she worried the shelter might be skeptical about her idea, but that they were surprisingly enthusiastic about it.
Amy Heinz is the owner of AHeinz57, and said her organization was delighted to be asked to help out with Clark’s request to use rescue puppies in her wedding.
More than just being a totally adorable wedding accessory, Clark wanted the puppies to help raise awareness for rescue dogs and the mission of AHeinz57.
Clark was moved by AHeinz57’s recent heroic rescue mission; they went to Texas to rescue 96 dogs and 5 cats who were displaced by the disaster.
At Clark’s wedding, they had a lot of adoptable dogs available at the reception and the couple selflessly gave all their dollar dance money to the animal shelter.
Clark included a book of all the shelter’s adoptable dogs at one of her tables, in order to encourage guests to adopt a fur baby that day.
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The bride gave credit to Pinterest for initially inspiring the idea. She said guests loved it, and some gasped at the sight of the adorable puppies.
While Clark wanted to take home some of the puppies that day, she couldn’t; she already has three dogs.
Luckily, these puppies have a foster mom, who attended the ceremony and brought them home after the event.
These puppies will soon be available for adoption along with the rest at AHeinz57.
Clark was elated that she could bring in her biggest day with homeless puppies; it was something she has always dreamed of doing.
Wondering if you can do something selfless and fun like this? Well, if you don’t happen to have a wedding on the horizon, there are other fun ways to raise awareness among your friends and loved ones about homeless pets!
Some children out there choose to have birthday parties where they ask friends to bring bags of pet food or other supplies that they turn around and donate to their local animal shelter. Adults can do this, too.
You could also hold a drive at your workplace where you ask colleagues to bring in donation supplies, or pay a small amount of money to be able to wear something fun to work (such as hats or pajamas), and give the proceeds and supplies to the shelter of your choice.
If you knit, you could have knitting parties where you and your friends create beds and blankets for local homeless pets.
There are tons of fun and creative ways to help animal shelters in your area. Samantha Clark chose puppy bouquets, and the internet loves her for it.
