Adrian Lipp's chickens were free-ranged near his Ballard.
However, his neighbors who have a vegetable garden are not willing to share their plants with his foraging poultry. Therefore, Lipp built a spacious chicken farm with a multi-story chicken house as a shelter. It's right next to his terrace, so when Lipp entertains, the chicken is part of the scene.
"They are not exactly pets," he said. "Maybe more like a roommate."
A 2020 survey by the American Pet Products Association found that 67% of American households keep pets. Washington is one of the 10 states with the most cats, and Seattle is famous for keeping dogs (as many news media have reported, there are more dogs than children in the city).
As for chickens, in many communities, they are rarely heard clucking in someone's yard during a morning walk.
Not surprisingly, pet owners are reluctant to keep their furry feathered relatives in cages. But it is too dangerous to allow animals to move freely, especially at night. Instead, many people have come up with their own solutions-some of which are very creative-to protect the safety and shelter of their pets, while also providing adequate exercise and entertainment.
In Bothell, two dozen turtles of the Fisher family—box turtles, branding tortoises, red-eared turtles, yellow-bellied turtles, and red-bellied turtles—live a life very similar to the ones they enjoy in the wild. life. Ben Fisher, a veterinarian in North Seattle, hired a contractor to install a realistic backyard habitat-about 30 x 30 feet-including a 3-foot-deep swimming pool, a waterfall, and sunbathing The rocks and plants used in large quantities for food and shelter.
"I went to a swimming pool and got some [design] ideas," Fisher said. "Our goal is to make it beautiful and natural. In winter, I fill up two-thirds of the leaves for hibernating turtles."
For Fisher’s turtles and Lip’s chickens, strong barbed wire is essential to deter local predators, especially raccoons. One of Fisher's turtles was bitten, and Lip lost some chickens before they installed and perfected the fence.
The key is to have a fence high enough to stop the raccoons — Fisher’s pond even has a wire roof — and root the wire wall deep enough underground to prevent pets from digging out the way. A lockable door prevents Fisher's four children from entering the turtle pond unattended.
Although outdoor fences for dogs, birds, and amphibians have a long history, the concept of "catios" for domestic cats is relatively new. Ballard Company Catio Spaces has been at the forefront of this movement, selling DIY designs online and providing services for customizing and building catios.
Bonnie Beard and Sean Ansorge installed catios on two existing balconies of their Wallingford home to provide fresh air for the indoor cats Xena and Dudley, while allowing They stay at home safely.
"We started with a [catio] because we thought,'What if the cat doesn't like it?'" Beard said. "But the cat likes it. So we added a second one."
Beard likes the way their catios fit the design of the house. "Our cat's platform area is the same height as the balcony railing. Looking at the house from the street, you don't even notice that there is a catio," she said.
A simple catio space can be created by connecting walls and railings with zippers. This is a popular solution for apartment residents who do not want to permanently remodel their balcony or terrace.
Many dog owners contacted for this article stated that their entire house is a dog structure, with sofas used as dog beds and corridors used as play areas. This is especially true during the pandemic, when people spend more time indoors with their pets. But some families have established structures to solve the specific breed problems of their puppies.
"Chihuahuas don't like to wet their paws in rain or snow," said Shannon Stabert, who lives with her husband Brooke in Ballard. With this in mind, they transformed one end of a small sheltered porch on one side of the house into an easy-to-clean potty area for the Chihuahua Dobby they rescued. They installed a shower drain pan on the existing drain on the porch floor, then added a metal grid and a layer of dog-friendly artificial turf.
"We just rinsed it off after he used it," Stabbert said.
In their TV room, an 11-inch-high dog door (made into a miniature version of the life-size wooden door in the home) gives Dobby easy access to his custom facility.
Tegan Moore recently moved to Carnation so that she has more room for agility training with her dog. Peachthief is a Koolie, an energetic Australian Shepherd. When she is indoors, the thief needs to do a lot of things to keep her out of trouble.
"When I had to leave my puppy unattended, she had an enclosed space in my restaurant," Moore said. "The most important thing is that when I'm away, this space is full of things she can do: a puzzle box full of snacks, chews wrapped in toilet paper tubes and kraft paper that she can shred, a frozen food toy and a The snuff mat is full of good things. I'm also running the white noise fan. She can't wait to get in!"
Lynn Rosskamp and Wilhelm Fitzpatrick fell in love with rescue mice years ago. Since then, they have built a special "rat room" on Queen Anne's house. This space has its own ventilation system and special windows to prevent rats from biting out. The cages from Critter Nation are large enough for Rosskamp and Fitzpatrick to go in and clean them.
In addition to mice, they also raise cats and fish. After Fitzpatrick reinforced a beautiful mid-century dressing table, two goldfish recently moved from life in a salad bowl to a 4-foot-long aquarium. Use the couple’s Google Home system to adjust the aquarium’s water temperature.
Roskamp said that pet accommodation should be visually appealing to the people they live with, and be safe and comfortable for pets.
"I sew for mice and make colorful hammocks for them," she said. "We have a big, beautiful cage in the living room with six mice in it. Sometimes I take them out of the cage, spread a woolen blanket on the sofa, and we go out to play together."