Sniffer Dogs Marry

When we were kids, we enlisted all sorts of people into play weddings: the cat, teddy bears, dolls etc. Now someone has done it for real.

This week, 2000 invitees and 20 police dogs attended a wedding ceremony for nine pairs of dogs, in the town of Kandy, Sri Lanka. German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Labradors and Doberman took part in the wedding ceremony. The ceremony was intended to promote a programme to breed more sniffer dogs. This initiative was introduced with a aim to save foreign exchange of around Rs20 million [$US150 000] on importing high pedigree dogs from Europe.

The brides wore mittens, shawls and hats while the grooms had fancy neckties and shawls. They were “married” on a platform covered with white cloth and flowers symbolic of a traditional human marriage ceremony. Constables served milk rice and cake to the guests. The dog couples were driven off in a police van to the hill resort of Nuwara Eliya for their “honeymoon”.

Sri Lanka’s cultural affairs ministry has demanded an explanation for the ceremony in central Sri Lanka taken strong exception to the event: “Using hallowed national traditions at a dog show must be condemned with contempt,”

The Police Department stated they expressed “its deep regret over this matter.”

Someone who had this bright idea will now be hiding.