By Cindy J. Roth
Groundhog handler Andre Ricaud discovered the two love hogs missing from their cage at around 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 21. They were scheduled to pose for pre-wedding photos that afternoon with Herald photographer Luke DeLalio.
After escaping from their cage, the groundhogs gnawed through a layer of sheetrock. In an attempt to keep the groundhogs from becoming newlyweds before the actual wedding day, Ricaud took the empty cage apart and demolished the wall to find Mel and Melissa between the sheetrock and the outer wall of the shed where their cage was stored. The groundhogs were reported to have suffered no injuries and were given a clean bill of health. Both Mel and Melissa declined to comment.
Family kept close watch on Mel and Melissa last week to avoid another attempt to run. The wedding, which has a guest list of an estimated several hundred humans and will take place at Reese Park in Malverne at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, has been in the works since last year.
Wedding planner Rhonda Glickman was devastated when she heard of the couple's attempt to escape. "I can't believe they would skip out after all the hard work we put into planning the wedding," she said. "It's going to be a beautiful ceremony. Thank goodness Ricaud caught up with them and was able to talk some sense into them."
