The Bachelor
Two weeks before the Weinerpalooza parade, the dog hair was flying at Hank’s Hair of the Dog Saloon, where a bevy of excited canine contestants shed their inhibitions and vied for a chance to wed Key West’s most eligible canine bachelor, Alvin the Dachshund.
Key West’s own version of the reality love match show, “The Bachelor,” was dreamed up by organizer Ben Hennington as a prelude to Weinerpalooza, kicking off “A Month of Wieners” to benefit Luci’s Fund, a nonprofit that donates to Keys organizations supporting animals in need.
This year, the Palooza parade was going to include a spectacular post-parade dog wedding. The groom was Alvin, Ben’s beloved dachshund. The betrothed would be one of the suitors Alvin chose at Hank’s.
Ten dogs paid $10 to speed date, sniff and impress, but Key West’s “King of the Dachshunds,” decked out in his crown and cape, made it clear that none of them made the grade.
“He’s usually a sweet boy,” Ben said. “But he hated every one of the contestants.”
It threw everything off. The wedding was planned and ready to go — the venue, the catering, the champagne, even the pre-nup written by Alvin’s attorney. Ben had to think like a real reality show producer and change the script — quickly. He reached out to the owner of Henry, a min-pin that Alvin adored. “If my dog proposed,” he asked, “would Henry marry Alvin?”
The answer was “Yes.”
Two weeks later, after the last Wienerpalooza brigade marched down the street, 14-year-old Alvin and 12-year-old Henry were married in a ceremony put together by the firm Simply Weddings. Champagne toasts for humans and biscuit treats for dog attendees followed. And unlike the pairings on other “reality” love shows, this one worked.
“It was truly a happy ending,” Hennington says. “Alvin and Henry are like an old married couple. They tolerate each other.”
The Overboard Romeo
If you’ve ever rambled onto D Dock at City Marina, you’ve probably run into Captain Boo, a black and white Maine coon cat who commandeers the space in front of his houseboat, the HB Aria.
Boo generally doesn’t give a s–t about other cats. But that all changed when a large catamaran named The Runaway Cat arrived last Christmas with a beautiful calico girl onboard.
Boo fell hard for the cat on the catamaran. Day after day, he began hanging out around her slip in the hope Miss Kitty would take the bait and slip out to meet him.
What he didn’t know was that the crew of the Runaway Cat had encircled the boat with chicken wire to keep the cat from running away. When he realized the calico was cloistered, Boo decided to take matters into his own paws.
One night, he waited until dark and leapt onto the Runaway Cat. Everyone on D dock heard the loud splash as Boo slipped off the side and fell into the drink. Fortunately, Maine coons are good swimmers. The Captain made it back to his boat where his folks, Bobbie Meck and Gary Ek, plucked him out of the sea. When Bobbie sprinkled him down to wash off the salt, his howls echoed throughout the marina.
This season, the calico and the catamaran returned to D dock. Boo appeared content to sit on the walkway and watch his love from afar. Then, just the other night, around 4 a.m., Boo tried again. Again, he fell overboard. No one knows if he’ll attempt it again.
Love is like that for a cat. Completely unreasonable.
Man Marries His Dog
“At first, she didn’t seem like much,” Chris Capp tells me. “She had strange light gray eyes, kind of ominous looking. I had no idea when I first saw her that she was a big love muffin.”
Chris was a volunteer at the Ocean County, New Jersey animal shelter when the staff asked if he would start walking the abandoned white pit bull. At one point, they had him slap on an “Adopt Me” vest and asked him to walk her to the local Pet Supermarket.
He did it once. Then he began putting her in his truck and taking her home to his yard, where she could run and exercise.
“The shelter told me I couldn’t do that,” so he said, “Fine. I’ll adopt her.”
By that time, he had realized Daisy was an extraordinary dog — intelligent, obedient and very affectionate. Their bond just continued to grow.
When he took Daisy to meet his 80-year-old mom, she fell in love with her, too, even taking her to work with her. Daisy became part of the family. Part of Capp’s life.
After she had been with him about a year, he decided to marry her.
“She had given me so much, provided love so unconditionally that I wanted to do something for her. This dog that had been abandoned and abused. I wanted to formalize my commitment to her.”
It was a small, simple ceremony. The groom wore his Ducati motorcycle jacket, the bride a pink collar. Vows were exchanged. The Bride and Groom kissed. They remained together until Daisy’s death.
After Daisy came Sarah and Hank and Jellybean, all pitties like Daisy. He loves them all, but still misses Daisy. “She was, and still is,” he says, “the love of my life.”
It sounds crazy, but when Chris Capp explains it, it’s completely understandable. After all, who hasn’t thought how great it would be if our human mate could be like our special dog? Lovable.
Trainable. Unconditionally accepting and adoring.
I only had three questions after hearing this moving love story.
Did he propose? “I didn’t have to,” he said.
Did she accept? “Yes.”
Were there treats involved? He laughs. “Absolutely.”
