Dogs may be known internationally as man's best friend, but one Australian has taken his puppy love to an entirely new level by marrying his cherished pet.

According to the AFP, Joe Guiso wed his five-year-old golden retriever, Honey, in a park in the Queensland town of Toowoomba. The groom donned a formal grey suit while the "bride" wore a flowing veil-like cape attached to her collar.

Thirty of Guiso's friends and family attended the unorthodox wedding, which concluded with the groom getting down on one knee to plant a kiss on his beloved pooch. "You're my best friend and you make every part of my day better," Guiso, 20, told his pet, according to the New York Daily News.

Though local animal rights groups have slammed the nuptials, Guiso has laughed off the criticism, saying that while he loves his dog, the relationship is strictly platonic. "There's nothing sexual," he told the AFP, noting that the event was simply a lighthearted way to celebrate with friends. "You can't actually marry a dog." And it sounds as if the honeymoon period might already be over for the new couple: "I think [Honey's] a bit angry about all the publicity; she's been giving me the silent treatment," the Telegraph quotes Guiso as saying.

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And just so that you don't think I only hate Australian dogs

NEW DELHI — A man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death — an act he believes cursed him — a newspaper reported Tuesday.
P. Selvakumar married the sari-draped former stray named Selvi, chosen by family members and then bathed and clothed for the ceremony Sunday at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.
Selvakumar, 33, told the paper he had been suffering since he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree 15 years ago.
"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," he said in the report.
The paper said an astrologer had told Selvakumar the wedding was the only way he could cure the maladies. It did not say whether his situation had improved.
Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.
The paper showed a picture of Selvakumar sitting next to the dog, which was wearing an orange sari and a flower garland.
The paper said the groom and his family then had a feast, while the dog got a bun.

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Cats don't escape my hatred either

A German man has unofficially married his cat after the animal fell ill and vets told him it might not live much longer, Bild newspaper reports.
It says Uwe Mitzscherlich, 39, paid an actress 300 euros (£260,$395) to officiate at the ceremony, as marrying an animal is illegal in Germany.
Mr Mitzscherlich said he had wanted to tie the knot before his asthmatic cat Cecilia died.
The cat and groom have lived together for 10 years.
"Cecilia is such a trusting creature. We cuddle all the time and she has always slept in my bed," Mr Mitzscherlich, a postman from the eastern town of Possendorf, told Bild.
Actress Christin-Maria Lohri, who officiated the ceremony, was quoted as saying: "At first I thought it was a joke. But for Mr Mitzscherlich it's a dream come true".
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