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Making your house a ‘pet friendly’ home

Puppy love doesn’t just describe two teenagers fawning over each other in the early stages of a relationship

Kim Meckler

Puppy love doesn’t just describe two teenagers fawning over each other in the early stages of a relationship; it is something that those of us who own a dog recognize as an unexplainable love for our pets.

Those little furry faces that we miss so much and can’t wait to get home to at the end of the day are always excited to see us and make us feel like the most important person on earth.

I had recently offered to purchase a condo in Red Deer and one of the conditions of the sale was in relation to my dog, the condo board had to approve his ‘residency’ which unfortunately did not happen. It was heartbreaking for me to give up the condo but no property on earth could make me happier than living with my pup. Several people asked me if I would give him up to get the house and my answer was always NO!

Clients are always planning and designing for and around their pets, they ask for products that are pet friendly for stains or scratching and make many decisions based on their furry companions. Almost always, they ask sheepishly if I think it’s crazy that they are choosing items for their home based on their pets and I tell them that it is perfectly normal.

Normal because I am a pet lover and am willing to work products and decor around my dog. White bed linens and duvets because he is pure white and leather furniture which doesn’t collect and hold dog hair are all a part of my decisions.

It’s satisfying to have a ‘show home perfect’ house but that house can’t snuggle with you at night or look up at you with big brown eyes asking for a scratch on the head.

The fact that chew toys adorn my New Zealand wool area carpet daily is just a fun game between me and my pup and his muddy footprints on my LVT plank floor really just make me smile as he trots around our home.

There is such joy in having a pet and they truly make a house into a home.

So me and my buddy are a team and will continue to search for dog-friendly property in our fair city. I am content in my little rental house but still want to search for a property to call my own. I am grateful that my landlords were willing to take someone with a dog and I know that many properties are not pet friendly because somewhere along the way someone has abused the privilege.

There are many responsible pet owners and it’s sad that so many places in Central Alberta are not pet friendly.

When you search out other communities in Alberta or B.C. you will find that many communities embrace pets and allow for people to bring their pets out into public.

When I was in Vegas having lunch with a friend, the ladies at the table next to us had two strollers pushed up to their table. The strollers did not contain babies but small white princess pups who were along for the ladies’ lunches! That is a dog friendly restaurant for real!

To all pet lovers, I salute you! It takes a heart full of love and a lifetime of patience to open up our homes and sacrifice some of our fancier things to have a furry friend as a roommate.

Kim Meckler is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.