Get the Tissues! Couple Goes Above and Beyond to Ensure Their Dying Pup Gets to See Their Wedding

When someone welcomes a companion dog into their life, that pup essentially becomes family. They’re always there waiting at home to snuggle at the end of a long day, they can sense when you’re not feeling your best and lend a comforting paw, and once they’re in your life, they’re there for all of the most important moments. People don’t call them fur babies for nothin’! Considering how close people can become with their furry pals, it’s no surprise that a woman by the name of Kelly O’Connell was extremely distraught when she realized that her sweet dog Charlie, a black Labrador mix, might not live long enough after his brain tumor treatment to see her through one of her most important days: her wedding!

Charlie and Kelly have been making memories ever since they found each other in an animal shelter. Charlie wound up there after being abandoned in a shopping cart as a puppy. Kelly took him in and showed him that not all humans are as negligent and cruel as the one that left him. 14 years of memorable moments later, and Kelly knew that she needed her best pal there for her wedding. 

Since both Kelly and her partner James are vets, they decided that Charlie was in good enough shape to attend the ceremony. Nothing like a little floral action to get this sweet pup in the wedding spirit! 

While Charlie was definitely in good spirits, he did have a bit of difficulty making it down the aisle. Luckily, Kelly’s maid of honor and sister, Katie, was there to help him! 

Seeing Charlie carried to the altar was definitely an emotional moment for the couple. “Both of us just dropped to our knees and started crying,” Kelly told ABC News. “To see him be carried a few feet, it kind of solidified for me that it’s not the Charlie he liked to be. He was aging, and it hit me knowing that he lost a lot.”

Seeing how important it was for Kelly to have Charlie at her wedding speaks volumes about how important and intertwined companion animals become in our lives. Charlie’s presence there was just as important as any human guest, and one can see easily from the photos how strong the bond between him and Kelly is. Charlie passed away a week after the wedding but at least got to see two of his favorite humans in the world get married – and that memory will never die.

All image source: JenDzPhotography/Facebook