Exclusive | Puppy Love: Couples who met the same dog

This is Paw’s perfect love story.

An Alabama couple with the same dog met on Hinge, and when they fell in love, so did their pup.

Birmingham photographer Anna Ward first connected with her now-husband David in the fall of 2024 after seeing a photo of Linus, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, on David’s dating app profile.

Not only is the pup the same breed as her dog Piper, but he’s also the same color.

“Then I also noticed that the owner was really cute,” Anna told The Washington Post.

She contacted him first with this message: “Wait. I have a Ruby Cav too,” he responded gently, “When can they meet?”

A few days later, David, a marketing director who lived in Huntsville, had to go to Birmingham for work, so he and Anna met at the park to take their dogs for a walk—unbeknownst to them it would be their first walk in forever.

Four-year-old Linus and nine-year-old Piper fall in love at first sight and are instantly smitten with each other.

“Just best friends,” Anna said.

“Yeah, it’s like they’ve known each other their whole lives,” David added.

Their humans are equally infatuated.

“I saw her coming with her dog and she was so beautiful,” David gushed. “We had a lot of similarities, so the conversation was very relaxed and full of laughter.”

The couple lived an hour and a half apart, so they dated long-distance for nine months before getting engaged, which took its toll on the bonded hounds.

“When we separated them, they refused to eat and were very sad,” Anna said.

“So Linus actually came to live with me before David did.”

When it came time to propose, David decided to pop the question in Highland Park, where they first met—with their fur baby in tow, of course.

In the proposal video, they can be seen wagging their tails as they approach David as he gets down on one knee – seemingly understanding what’s going on.

“Yeah, I think they did,” David said. “They love seeing us together too, so they’re excited.”

The lovebirds, who tied the knot in July 2025, made sure to have Linus and Piper represented on their wedding cake – complete with a set of tiny ceramic spaniels as cake toppers.

Dogs have adapted well to married life.

“They love snuggling,” Anna said.