My dream Italian wedding is in doubt after a major passport disaster – pet owners be warned
AN ENGAGED couple has warned pet owners after their naughty Golden Retriever ate one of their passports days before their dream wedding.
Eighteen-month-old Chickie – short for Chicken cutlet – has put a potential dampener on Donato Frattaroli and Magda Mazri’s plans to tie the knot in Italy later this month.
The Boston couple is now unsure of whether they’ll get to celebrate their wedding at La Torre di San Marco, an old watch tower overlooking Lake Garda, on August 31.
Days earlier, on August 17, Donato and Magda had just filled out some forms ahead of their wedding before coming home and setting the passport down on the counter.
That’s when Chickie decided that Donato’s passport was her new toy and got her owner’s travel document after jumping onto the counter.
“Our extremely cute Golden Retriever decided that maybe she doesn’t want us to go away to get married, so she hopped up on the counter and decided my passport was a nice new toy to play with,” the groom said.
After realising that the most important pages in the passport were now shredded, he said that he did not think that he was “that polite”, but added: “I mean, she’s a one-and-a-half-year-old Golden Retriever puppy, couldn’t be a cuter culprit.”
Magda, who is in medical device sales, contacted the offices of her congressman and senator, which were then reportedly in contact with the couple.
Donato, whose family owns several restaurants across Boston, said that he might be able to be seen in Atlanta before flying back to Boston to catch the flight to Italy.
While it usually takes eight to 11 weeks to obtain a new passport, it can be done in five to seven days if expedited, and even sooner if it is an emergency.
Donato, who has been with Magda for four years, said: “I’ve heard in some instances that you could walk out the door with a passport.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I would leave that office without one.”
“The most important day of my life is coming up, I’ve got to make sure I’m there for it.
“It’s almost like the ‘Dog ate my homework’ excuse but with slightly bigger ramifications.”
Donato’s dad was born in Gardone Riviera before emigrating to the US at the age of 14.
The couple are expecting 86 guests from the US, four from Australia, four from Italy, and four from Morocco.