I’ve been in the pet industry a long time and thought I’d heard it all… but wait… there’s more!

The other day, the Bark itectural Digest came across my desk! This group of architects designs and builds functional doghouses for their four-legged friends. The project was conceived to give  architects a chance to display their creative skills and to help raise funds for charity.

I’ve seen a lot of dog houses, but nothing like these… here are my faves. But you can check them all out here .

Design based on 3-D mechanical puzzle created in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik.  Doghouse design by Page Sutherland Page

This design won Best In Show. By Newberry Campa Architects. Built for a large dog looking for a stylish home to retreat from his active lifestyle.

A modular and prefab style house designed for indoor use and to be placed nar furniture to allow a small dog to have access to the rooftop. By Modular Dog/Dunamis Media

Who knew that my dog’s mattes and tangles would finally have a purpose, and a very noble one at that!

The Hair Mats program collects donated hair clippings to create mats of hair that are used to clean up oil spills.

One square foot of hair mat (a half inch thick) can collect one quart of oil in one minute! Any type of hair can be used in the creation of these mats. Ideally shampooed hair is best. It can be your hair or your dog’s hair.

Hair stylist Phil McCrory developed this unique way of cleaning up oil spills to save the lives of marine animals. He then teamed up with Matter of Trust, an ecological public charity to form the Hair Mats Program.

"You shampoo your hair because it gets greasy," says McCrory.  "Hair is very efficient at collecting oil out of the air, off surfaces like your skin and out of the water, even petroleum oil. Hair is ad sorbant (as in "clings to" unlike ab sorbant which is to "soak up.") There are over 370,000 hair salons in the US and each collects about 1 pound of hair a day. Right now, most of that goes into the waste stream, but it should all be made into hairmats."

To participate click here

If you’re not ready to chop off your dog’s hair just yet, you can always try a detangling spray that will help you work out the mattes and tangle. Just spray it directly on to the matte and work out with a comb.

Here at happytails we LOVE Canine Companions for Independence and they are our charity of record. It’s such a beautiful thing to see how dogs and humans working together can accomplish so much.  Every few weeks we are going to post inspirational stories from CCI, and who knows, if you are touched, think about adding CCI to your list of non-profits!

Maurice Harrison, Cory’s father. Ten year-old Cory was injured in an automobile acccident six years ago that rendered him paralyzed from the neck down.

Prior to Melly, Cory’s classmates would frequently focus all of their attention on Cory’s wheelchair and tracheotomy tube. But now, the attention has shifted away from his disability and towards his partenership with Melly.

"Now kids don’t look at the trach tube, but instead notice Cory and Melly as a pair. They wish that they had a dog llike Melly for themselves, " says Maurice.

Cory’s favorite part of having a Skilled Companion ? The kisses, constant love and attention. While Cory has no feeling from the neck down, and generally hates getting his face wet, he makes an exception for Melly. Cory’s dad marvels, "The joy in Cory’s face when Melly lavishes him with kisses is delightful to watch."

Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) is the most amazing organization. It’s a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs like the one in the photo.

Basically, people in wheelchairs (children and adults) are given these highly trained dogs to help them with day to day tasks. The bond that the dog and student form is deep and very endearing.

Before we decided to make CCI our charity of record we went down to CCIs facility in San Diego and watched the new teams work together– it was like a first date. The dog and student were figuring each other out, how each other moved and reacted to the world. The dogs were so cute and so willing to work and help out. It literally brought tears to our eyes!

CCI is looking for volunteers…Every assistance dog starts as a puppy that needs a loving home. You can raise a dog and change a life. Volunteer puppy raising is an incredible way to help children and adults with disabilities live more independent lives.

How you can help:

• raise a puppy for 15 months
• feed it, love it and teach it
• tell a friend about us

To learn more go to www.cci.org

Los Angeles-based happytails sells and markets problem-solving spa, grooming & wellness for the dog about town. happytails Canine Spa Line uses the finest (“better than human quality”) ingredients available to pamper, soothe and beautify today’s harried hound.

To read about the boy in the photo, click here