Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
‘With this dog I thee wed’
MAN’S best friend is set to take centre stage at a lockdown wedding next week when a dog-loving couple tie the knot – wearing special dog-and-cat masks from the SPCA.
Marichen Weich, 23, and Erastus Beukes, 25, started dating with their pets by their side.
Weich said: “I have two French poodles, Daphne, and Phoebe. They will also be at the ceremony... they have a special place in our hearts and are a part of our love story. They helped to bring us together.
“I am a shy, introvert and Erastus is a lot more outgoing and adventurous than me. Before I met Erastus he was working overseas on yachts. While delivering a yacht from Singapore to Auckland, he fell overboard off the coast of Papua New Guinea. He spent about two hours floating on a bucket in the sea before the crew rescued him.
“When he got back home, he shared his story of how God saved him at our church in Bellville, and that is where we met.
“With our first date I was kind of nervous... we decided to go for a walk at a park with my dogs, and it worked out perfectly because he fell in love with my dogs, and that is how our relationship began.
“We still have a joke with each other that he fell in love with Phoebe first and that she is his girlfriend and I am his fiancée.”
Weich said they chose to wear the masks “to show our support to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA and our love for animals”.
“We then purchased a few for the wedding and we are sure it will make for some fun pics on the day.”
The SPCA’s Belinda Abraham added: “We love the fact that the Cape of Good Hope SPCA is now part of this couple’s love story.
“It is really special that they have chosen to wear our masks, to not only represent their unifying love for animals but to also support the work of the SPCA.”