The letter L congratulates the happy couple!

Twenty-four golden retrievers popped the question for 26 year old Richard Fisher last week, to the surprise of his girlfriend Krissy Jackets.

Doglover Richard, who works in the media, had been looking for a novel way to propose to Krissy, 25, and he knew he had found the answer when they saw the Southern Golden Retriever Society Display Team performing at "Discover Dogs" last year. Krissy, a teacher, had loved the clever dogs and their obedience routines to music.

Richard said "When we saw the Display Team at Discover Dogs it was the highlight of the day. I wanted to propose in a creative and personal way, so I contacted the team on the off-chance that they might be able to help. It felt like a crazy idea and to be honest I didn’t think anything would come of it. However, the team were fantastic - they were incredibly enthusiastic about the idea from the start, and so keen to help."

Last week Richard drove Krissy from their home in London to dinner in Wrotham village, Kent. Then to her surprise he wandered into the darkened village hall with her where their special music was playing. The lights went up to reveal a mass of golden retrievers, each wearing around its neck a heart showing a letter of the alphabet. With a quick swirl of dogs they moved into position to spell out "Krissy Will You Marry Me?".

"I was obviously pretty nervous beforehand" said Richard, "but as soon as we walked into the room and saw 24 pairs of eyes glinting in the darkness I knew it would all go to plan! Everybody had big smiles - including Krissy thankfully - as the dogs and owners re-arranged the line and she said yes immediately. After that was a bit of a blur as everyone wished us well and we met the dogs - I nearly forgot to give Krissy the ring! I still smile every time I think about it."

Team Manager, Karen Menter said "This must be the first ever proposal by dogs. The team have performed at Crufts and on BBC TV, including "Blue Peter", but helping Richard pop the question was really special. We‚ve offered a Guard-dog of Honour for their wedding but I suspect they feel that’s a step too far!"