Woman who married dog eight years ago says he's 'perfect' for her

'Dogs are better than men'

A woman who married her dog says that despite people thinking she’s mad, he’s “perfect” for her.

43-year-old Wilhelmina Morgan Callaghan, from Northern Ireland, married her dog Henry eight years ago.

We all know a dog is man’s best friend, and Callaghan credits Henry’s loyalty for getting her through some tough times.

“Things have fallen apart somewhat since we married in 2009,” she said.

“I lost my job in a morgue, so was forced to become a freelance embalmer, there is not much money in that, and then my house flooded.

“But Henry has been great throughout – he is so loyal.”

She added that she calls him “Ri” which means “King” in ancient Gaelic, “because he is like a king – my king.”

Henry is a Cork-born Yorkshire terrier that Callaghan adopted in 2009 from a friend who’d had a litter of puppies.

After reading about people marrying their pets online, Callaghan decided she would do it too.

It’s not legal to marry a pet in the UK, so the “marriage” is a spiritual one, although Callaghan takes it seriously and has a certificate too.

Henry isn’t Callaghan’s only pet though - she has 11 dogs in total and is such a huge canine-lover that she runs a Facebook page devoted to Sealyham Terriers.

Fortunately, she says that she and all her dogs get along well most of the time.

It’s an unusual union, but Callaghan believes “dogs are better than men,” and frankly, she’s probably not the only one to share that view.

There have been plenty of other cases of people marrying their pets - a woman in Lanzarote married her two cats after splitting from her partner of seven years, for example, and a Dutch woman married her dog after her first husband, a cat, died.

Callaghan is totally committed to Henry.

“Unlike other marriages which fall apart, I know I’m with Henry for life,” she said.

“People may think I’m barking mad, but he’s perfect for me.”