Formerly injured stray dog proudly walks his dad down the aisle in Round Rock wedding

ROUND ROCK, Texas - There’s a saying that pets are a part of the family, and it couldn’t be more true for one family in Round Rock when a dog named Oak entered the picture.

By the sound of his bark and the wag of his tail, you’d never know that a little more than a year ago, Oak was being pulled out of a field off Great Oaks Drive in Round Rock.

"He jumped off a 40ft bridge," said Jen Dunbeck, Oak’s mom.

He was a stray running from the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter when he fell into a pile of cacti.

"Ugh, that’s hard, so he ended up having a bunch of spines in his muzzle as well as breaking his right leg badly," said Dunbeck.

Dunbeck was in the right place at the right time.

She was volunteering at the animal shelter when Oak was rescued, shortly after her senior dog died.

"He was in surgery, and no one had come forward, and so I'm like sitting there, and I’m really thinking about it, and I go to a meeting, and I come out of the meeting, and I go into Van’s office, and I'm like, ‘Well, what do you think?’ and he’s like, ‘Yeah, we should just do it,’"  said Dunbeck.

Before they knew it, they had what's called a "foster fail" on their hands.

"By the time that we were kind of at a point that he was healthy enough to go up for adoption, he was already a part of our family,"  said Dunbeck.

When it was time for Jen and Van to get married over Memorial Day weekend, they decided to include him.

"He helped walk me down the aisle," said Van Lityouvong, Oak’s dad. "It was actually a last-minute thing."

Oak watched his parents get married in their backyard.

"By our two oak trees with oak, very appropriate," said Lityouvong.

This is their happily ever after, but they know some pets are still waiting.

"We’re so excited to have had this happy ending with Oak, right?" said Dunbeck. But this is not that unique of a story. Anyone can kind of find their best friend, their walk buddy, and all of that too."

Instead of presents, Jen and Van made donations to the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter. They raised about $3,000.

"Van and I are getting married a little later than in life, and we don’t need a lot, and so what was really meaningful to me was helping contribute to this place that has given a lot to me," said Dunbeck.

Jen and Van hope others will hear about their journey with Oak and be encouraged to donate or volunteer at the shelter, maybe even have a "foster fail" like theirs.