People who renew their wedding vows will generally go to any lengths to get everything right the second time around. So this man from Quinlan, Texas, thought things through and realized that no one could make a better best man than Wildthing, his pet buffalo. A 2008 picture of the ceremony shows Ronald Bridges and his wife Sherron posing along with the towering Wildthing. You’d think the picture was morphed if you didn’t know it really happened.

The Bridges run a ranching business in Texas, and Ronald is actually pretty experienced in working with farm animals. So when Wildthing was born in 2005, Ronald decided to tame and raise him as a part of the family. When the buffalo responded beautifully to domestication, the Bridges kind of went overboard. They actually gave him a room of his own in the house where he could eat, sleep and come and go as he pleased. The only time he’s not allowed inside is when they have guests over, as American Bison can actually be pretty temperamental and dangerous around people.

But this did not discourage Ronald one bit from having Wildthing participate in the wedding ceremony, and his wife, Sherron, had no objections either. The 40 guests present at the event were surprised and cautious at the same time. They stayed clear of the huge bison throughout the whole thing, and there were  no disruptions on account of Wildthing. He performed his duties as best man pretty well, and Ronald  remembers he was specially brushed for the occasion and looked very smart. He even carried the rings on the tips of his horns.

The Bridges say that Wildthing may look scary, but he’s actually a real softie at heart. He loves being with the family all the time – relaxing on the grass with Ronald, playing with the rubbish wheelie bin and watching their daughter on the trampoline. At times he scratches himself against the side of the house or scrapes windows with his horns, and then he gets told off. So he goes away to sulk for a while, but he’s back soon for more family-time. He sounds a lot like a dog-in-a-buffalo’s-hide.

Strangely enough, the Bridges aren’t the only family with a buffalo as a pet. Jim and Linda Sautner treat Bailey the Buffalo as a member of the family and even let him ride in their car, while young South-African Luke Michaelides is best friends with two African Buffaloes.

Photos via Daily Mail