Couple marries after guide dogs 'fall in love'
Claire Johnson and Mark Gaffey marry with their dogs Venice and Rodd (Guide Dogs for the Blind Association) Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Newlyweds Claire Johnson and Mark Gaffey can boast that they were set up by their best friends — by man's best friend, that is.
The sight-impaired British couple married on Saturday after meeting at a training camp for their guide dogs in 2012.
Their Labrador retrievers, Venice and Rodd, became "the class love story" when they wouldn't stop playing and nuzzling with each other.
"Everyone used to joke about how Mark's dog Rodd and my dog Venice were meant to be together," said Johnson, 50, according to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.
Unwilling to separate their loved-up dogs, Johnson and Gaffey, 51, continued to see each other for "play dates" after the two-week course finished.
Play dates evolved to coffee and lunch dates, and Gaffey eventually proposed to Johnson on Valentine's Day 2013.
Venice and Rodd accompanied their owners down the aisle at their ceremony in the village of Barlaston.
"I have no doubt that our guide dogs brought us together and helped me find my true love," Johnson said.
"Much like our two guide dogs, we really are best friends and soul mates."
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