Why the Dog House
When someone said that “life is what happens while you are planning something else”, they were definitely thinking of me.
I had a very successful horse training business for over 20 years. I realized that I was becoming more and more aware that the occupation was not a fit for me. But you know how it is. I had invested so much time and energy, and I was successful. It was hard to step away. And then along came Hurricane Ian. The eye, along with a couple of tornadoes past right over my house—ending my old life forever.
So began the story of The Dog House.
After Hurricane Ian
After the storm passed, I was faced with a scene of total destruction. Over thirty giant oaks had been ripped out of the ground, destroying everything that I had built over the previous twenty years. My house was a water soaked moldy mess. The barn was gone. The fencing had all been destroyed. ( I spent the next two years living in my horse trailer while I rebuilt my house.) There was no going back to what had been.
Because I had to demolish the whole inside of the house, I was really starting with a blank canvas. I was going to rebuild the inside the way it had been, but then I thought “why”?
If I have to rebuild my house, why not design it around dogs instead of people. So I rebuilt the perimeter walls using wooden planks instead of drywall for easy cleaning, if needed. And I did not rebuild any interior walls. Why? The dogs have no need for privacy. And it also makes the space much more flexible. I can fence off areas as required.
Once all the inner support walls had been torn out I was left with large areas of raw concrete. No problem. I would turn them into “floor art”. Once the art was finished I sealed everything so that the whole floor area was easy to clean.
Furniture? What do dogs like? Couches. So I found some old leather couches and painted them.
Inside my Dog House
It may have taken two years, but it is worth it!
I never realized when I first saw the total destruction of my home and my life, that what would come to replace it would allow me to fulfill my life’s mission which is:
To save as many animals as I can and ease their suffering. I want to be a safe place for them and help each one find comfort, healing and a forever kind of happiness.
Thank you Hurricane Ian!