A Dog's Life

I often wonder if people decorate around their pets. I know cat lovers often have massive towers covered in carpet to entertain their cats, or the efficient doggie doors you can install to give your pooch the freedom to come and go as he or she pleases, but that's not what I mean.

I find that our dogs, an English Shepherd named Quinn and a Border Collie named Kylee, have influenced our decorating in a way that I find has made us more relaxed. We've owned other wonderful dogs, a German Shepherd that had the disposition of an angel and an Aussie that was smarter than me I think, but aside from picking flooring that would hide their ubiquitous shedding, we really didn't change much about our style to accommodate them.

Maybe it's because I'm older, or that our children are all grown up *sigh*, but I find that I'm drawn to things that the dogs will like along with things I know we will like. Now before you think I'm turning into a crazy cat lady, I just find that having slipcovers that allow the dogs to curl up on a favorite chair or a owning a duvet that can stand to be de-furred periodically makes good sense! The dogs agree and Quinn is particularly fond of the duvet idea since he takes up 50% of the bed each night!!!

I even purchased two pencil drawings on clearance from Ballard Designs that look remarkably like our devilish duo and have them in our family room for all the world to see! I haven't begun removing the children's portraits to replace them with pet pictures so never fear, but I feel that these furry beings have taken on an even more important role in our lives than any of our past dogs, and that's saying a whole lot since they were card carrying members of our family as well.

But just look at those faces...who wouldn't be smitten?! Have you found yourself drawn to different decorating styles because of your pets?