|
The Elfin family lives in beautiful Goochland county, between Richmond and Charlottesville,VA. While our 5 acres still appear rural, Richmond is rapidly growing out to meet us. We now have several good restaurants, a Food Lion and a Video Store only several minutes away! There are no kennels here. When I designed our house and had it built in 1990, it was with the comfort of the dogs in mind. An open floor plan, formica and hardwood floors, 2 large fenced yards, a small puppy-proof yard, and dog doors allow the dogs to exercise, in or out, sleep and play as they desire.
In 2005, Poppy suffered from a slipped intervertebral disc (at age 13) and, subsequently, had trouble navigating 'normal' steps so we built her a new deck. The new deck has steps with a 6" rise, which is the minimum rise permitted by code. It was built on two levels so there is not one steep set of stairs but a two step down then five steps to the ground and we added a ramp. She was so happy and cute as she proudly made it down the two steps then slid down the ramp to potty in the grass. The steps are shallow enough that she was able to get back up them without a problem and, until her passing at 15 1/2 years of age, Poppy still managed to get out the dog door and into the yard to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine! The shallow steps were such a good idea that we built a screen porch with big landing and the same shallow/closed steps in the front yard where the puppy playground is so even very young puppies learn to navigate the stairs easily and safely.
There are differing philosophies on 'managing' dogs. At Elfin, there is no kennel. We've chosen the 'family members' approach to dog management. They eat with us, watch TV with us, sleep with us and, most days, one or several go to work with me. We have frequent visitors to entertain them. These include wild turkeys, deer, the occasional 'possum, and the horses are always good for a barkfest excuse.
|
 |
| Leather couch, Silk (dog) Pillows |
|
|
 |
| Poppy's Deck |
|
|
 |
| View from Poppy's Deck |
|
|
 |
| Little dog, big horses! |
|
|
 |
| Penny's Poems love the Potty Park! |
|
|
|
