pdf of project descriptive panel

The first cut is the deepest
Measure twice, cut once
Start
I’m tired!
Lost Dog Café
My Dad and Mom designed and built this doghouse because they love dogs! They wanted to use
their creativity and hands-on ability to raise money to support the important work of Brother
Wolf through this AIA event, the Asheville Bow-Wowhaus.
It was fun to watch this process, and listen to their ideas evolve after they visited Folly Beach a couple of months ago. The talked about this
great little beach café, The Lost Dog Café. Some of the design features inspired by that café include the framed pictures of Wilbur and me, and
our friends’ dogs, Molly and Blanche Dubois. Also, notice the dog bone handrail where the cornerstone is a heart (where all pets reside). They
were surprised to learn that Folly Beach is very big with surfers, so it was important to include this Rusty surf board in their doghouse
fantasy. Living in the mountains as we do, Dad had quite a time finding one, but finally came across this cool board on eBay and bought it
from a dude in Melbourne, Florida. The house is designed to allow the future owner to remove the surfboard (which comes with the fins and
tether) if they want to use it. And, the roof lifts off to make cleaning the interior easy. The house has a real “cave-like” environment which
you know all know dogs love, and it also has adequate space for a dog my size to stretch out (yes, I tried it out and measured it before they
brought it here: dimensions are 36” x 30”).
The materials purchased were a couple of sheets of plywood, casters, metal roofing, picture frames; and the bird weather vane and chalkboard
came from TRASH. The rest of the materials were small pieces of wood that came from my Grandpa’s workshop. All in all, it took 9 days to
build.
I was impressed that they built this doghouse using just hand tools, and couldn’t believe how patient Mom was with Dad cutting the parts on
the back deck and assembling the whole thing in the middle of our living room!
Designers:
Terry and Janiece Meek, in loving memory of Wilbur Meek. A special thanks to Wilbur’s brothers Charlie and Leo, who offered
their expert advice throughout the process.
A labor of love
“All in the town were
still asleep,
When the sun came up
with a shout and a leap
In the lovely streets
unseen by man
A little dog danced
as the day began.”
Lost Dog Café Sponsors
ANIMAL HOSPITAL SOUTH
Dawn and painting begins
Almost there
Cut Layout
Finish