WooPets In The News!!!

  Recently one of our rescues that we found a home for had a wedding and was married to a hamster! This major event was covered by the local newspaper and many people attended it! The article is provided below- we are so proud AngelCake got a great home, and now more people are aware of guinea pig rescues.

October 19 - 26, 2005   Wedded bliss in Westerville A pair of pets tie the knot in an event featuring all of the traditional trimmings. News photos by Dan Trittschuh Chloe Yingling, age 4, carries her guinea pig Angel Cake down the aisle Sunday during a mock wedding held at the Yingling residence in Westerville. Angel Cake was matched to Katie Thompson's hamster named Muffin. By MARK MAJOR When Joy Yingling invited her sister, Deb Whitney, to drive down from Ostrander to attend a guinea pig wedding, Whitney couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea. "I thought it was a sort of tongue-in-cheek reference to people inexperienced at marriage," Whitney said Saturday. "The more she talked about it, the more I realized they were real rodents." Joy Yingling said she wasn't surprised by the misunderstanding. It's not often she asks her sister to attend nuptials for a guinea pig and a hamster on a Sunday afternoon at her brother-in-law Matt Yingling's house, she said. Whitney and Joy Yingling were among about 40 friends and family members who turned out for the wedding of the guinea pig bride, Angel Cake Lettuce Yingling, to the hamster groom, Muffin Thompson, at the Keethler Drive residence of Matt and Megan Yingling. Angel Cake, owned by Matt and Megan's daughter, Chloe, 4, and Muffin, owned by Chloe's next-door neighbor, Katie Thompson, 6, first met during a playdate for Chloe and Katie Aug. 12, the day after Chloe picked Angel Cake up at a Canton-area shelter for abandoned "pocket pets." "It was one of those games kids play," Matt Yingling said. " 'They're boy and girl, they should get married.' Then the mothers took over from there." And take over they did. Guests received embossed invitations in the mail. Megan Yingling made a three-tiered wedding cake for the reception, while Katie's mother, Tiffany Thompson, whipped up sandwiches. The family room of the Yinglings' residence was decorated with tulle and white Christmas lights. Visitors at Sunday's ceremony were encouraged to sign the guest book and snack on sweets wrapped in orange foil embossed with the names of the bride and groom. Matt Yingling said the elaborate wedding and reception for the pets was par for the course for his wife, who planned their Renaissance-themed wedding 10 years ago. "Megan has always been creative. She enjoys doing things like this," he said. "She always has ideas other people wouldn't come up with." Programs for the "wedding" of guinea pig Angel Cake and hamster Muffin are placed next to a guest book at the Yingling residence in Westerville on Sunday. No detail of the wedding was ignored as the bride and groom even dressed for the occasion. Angel Cake wore a white veil and her groom wore a white top hat. The event was greeted with good-natured humor by the guests. "I think Mrs. Yingling has way too much time on her hands," said Katie's brother, Alex, 9, who presided over the ceremony. In the end, guests said it was nice to visit with family and friends, no matter how off-beat the occasion that brought them together. "I think most of all, it was nice seeing that the neighbors got together and enjoyed the day with their kids," said Katie's grandmother, Connie Woodward. Megan Yingling's father, Ben Mahan, said he enjoyed the day, though he said the time spent on the elaborate preparations made him wonder about the investment he made in his daughter's education. "Thank God all the money I spent on her education at Otterbein is paying off."