Photo credit: Sarah da Silva
Professional photography by Roxanne Zunckel and Sarah da Silva
Love was in the air on the 1st of April when Dominique and Graham Webb tied the knot at their future home in Constantia. But it wasn’t just the happy couple stealing the show. Their fur-child, Rolex, was there to share in the special day as ring bearer!
Here comes the dog!
Roxanne, Founder and Director of What a Treat Professional Pet Care, had the privilege of caring for Rolex throughout the day. She met the lovable pooch at the bride’s suite while hair and make-up were being done and took Rolex along for the photos of the beautiful bride. But let’s not forget that Rolex had her own special outfit for the day, custom-made by one of Cape Town’s favourite brands, Chommies. For the ceremony, Rolex was walked down the aisle by the Mother of the Bride, and of course she carried the rings on her Chommies collar to her beloved parents.
Her sitter, Roxanne, made sure that Rolex was calm (although some nerves were to be expected) and happy for the remainder of the ceremony. After the ceremony, Rolex roamed the venue and greeted guests under the watchful eye of her sitter. Rolex enjoyed the festivities, feasted on a bone, and even joined her parents for their first dance!
A heart-warming story
But Rolex’s journey to her fairy-tale wedding day wasn’t always so easy. She was rescued in November 2020, along with her mom and siblings, from a drug den where they were at risk of being sold for drug money. After their rescue by Dead Animals Walking, Oscars Arc stepped in and found them suitable foster families.
Dominique and Graham had the standard foster fail experience – they fell in love with Rolex and couldn’t give her back! She completely stole their hearts, so naturally, she had to be there when they said their “I do’s”.
It’s a heart-warming story of rescue, love and devotion. Rolex was undoubtedly the star of the show, but her presence also reminded us of the importance of animal rescue and the joy they can bring into our lives.
Congratulations to the happy couple, and of course, to Rolex for a job well done as ring bearer and all-round Good Girl at the wedding of the year!
Dominque Webb shares more about Rolex
We actually started out fostering her, as my husband, Graham’s, younger sister wanted to foster a dog whilst she was down in Cape Town on holiday (she goes to school in the UK). I was part of the Oscars Arc Foster WhatsApp group at the time and they mentioned that they had two pups that needed to be fostered for the upcoming week.
I immediately jumped at the opportunity to get one for Graham’s sister to foster. We arrived at the container to pick up the puppy, not knowing what we were going to get.
They then handed us Rolex (her name was H&M at the time as it was Black Friday). She was a nervous little pup but we immediately fell in love. There’s actually a video of me and her in the car on our way to drop her at Graham’s little sister, and in the background you can hearing me saying, “We aren’t giving her back.”
Before we knew it, she’d climbed into our hearts and there was absolutely no going back. Needless to say, a week later we were proudly back at the Oscars Arc container to sign the adoption papers.
Adopting Rolex was the best thing we’ve ever done! She’s added so much joy and meaning to our lives; we love her to bits and can’t imagine life without her. (Naturally, I immediately left the Foster WhatsApp group, because if I’d stayed, we’d have ended up with 100 foster fails!)
Rolex is like our child (we call her our first born), so having her at our wedding was a non-negotiable for us.
We went on the hunt for a dog-friendly hotel so that she could stay with us as well, and The Cellars-Hohenhort were more than accommodating.
Our wedding wouldn’t have been what it was without Roxy there; she was the star of the show!
Rolex was a bit stressed as she isn’t used to so many people at once, but luckily Roxy was there to help. We couldn’t have done it without her there to calm Rolex down!
Obviously, Rolex needed her own look for the day, so we collaborated with the local brand Chommies as they allow you to custom make your own collar and lead and choose the colours that you’d like. Rolex has used their dog leads/collars for a long time and we love them!
PS: We named her Rolex, because she’s our watch dog ;)
