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American Morning
Sniffing Out New Home Designs For Four-Legged City Dwellers
Aired June 03, 2002 - 08:56 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: In New York City, where many residents are paying a huge fortune to live in a cramped studio, you might think owning a dog on top of all of that would just be plain cruel. Forget about the poor owner for a minute.
CNN's Jeanne Moos has been sniffing out some new home designs for these four-legged city dwellers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): City dogs take heart, maybe some day you could end up in the doghouse. Not the kind of suburban doghouse favored by Snoopy, we're talking urban doghouses. Should we say urbane?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Think of a dog taking its own elevator.
MOOS: OK, so maybe the one with the doggie elevator is far fetched, but how about the one called MUTTS -- modular urban tent structure.
(on camera): So would a dog like it?
(voice-over): Phoebe had to be coaxed just to pass through this pup tent, one of almost 40 entries on display at The Run, an exhibit at New York's White Box Gallery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at this!
MOOS: Models and plans ranged from the Airstream trailer to the relatively practical felt doghouse, to this extravagant knockoff of the famed Bow House School of Architecture.
(on camera): And they call it the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bow wow house.
MOOS (voice-over): Complete with rooftop, lawn and pool, which the dog is sitting in. There were plenty of canine architecture critics at the exhibit's opening. There was even a demonstration by a dog artist we previously profiled. Hill 'Em Up Cheddar (ph), named after a cheese, scratches and bites on colored transfer paper. Too bad the guests of honor can't read. Too bad for the TV. Many of the urban doghouse entries double as furniture, mostly tables. Kuuga (ph) is a cool table for my best friend. Instead of getting on the sofa, how about getting in the sofa? The grand prize bone went to the Airstream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go on in there.
MOOS: Scruffy seemed to like it. Must be the sheepskin carpet. What inspired industrial designer Michael Tally? "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," in a scene where a guy and a his dog sitting in front of an Airstream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I thought, dog and then I look at the Airstream, and I said, oh.
MOOS: This doghouse has features beyond the kennel (ph) of a canine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all riveted with solid rivets.
MOOS: Instead of a penthouse, how about this pet house apartment, designed by architect Peter Berns?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open the window and pop it in.
MOOS: Like an air-conditioner, so your dog can do...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What every New Yorker would do, enjoy their view.
MOOS: Actually we know of a pair of cats doing just that years ago, Mark Abramson created this two-story cat condo that protrudes from his New York apartment. The creators of the pethouse apartment and the Airstream would love to have their ideas produced and sold.
The cat condo may look a little scruffy, but its occupants are sitting in the catbird seat.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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