When our family goes out on road trips to dog festivals, they are usually in more rural parts of the province. Ahhh… away from it all, lush green grass and properties surrounded by green acres, trees, farms and a lot of quiet.   It would be a dream come true for me to nestle into peaceful surroundings blogging away with a warm cup of coffee in hand. Dreams are merely thoughts that one can try to live up to and turn into reality. As we drive by all the different houses about the countryside, I can never seem to decide which style of house I see myself settling into; the sprawling bungalow, the beautifully antiquated century home, a large modern two story, a new modernized log cabin type or a small bungalow with a cute flower garden. My décor tastes have always streamed along the modern-classic genre but I’ve always appreciated anything that was hand-made. To me that always screamed quality.   Some of my furniture pieces have come from Amish furniture businesses and they are my most prized “fancy” pieces located in parts of the house that are usually off limits to children and, of course, Titan, lest my cherry bookcase becomes a very expensive chew toy. In saying that, there are fine hand crafted pieces for pups that can assimilate well into your home décor adding that natural flare or accent piece.

Dustin Bice is the founder of Northern Pine Customs and is a great example of quality in pet furniture and so much more. If you like hand made, original pieces made from natural refinished wood this is your guy. A young apprentice to his father, he helped build decks and picked up a knack for carpentry. He recently purchased a 1984 Ford F350 and completely redesigned the back to sport a carriage out of wood. He drew a lot of attention as he built it in his driveway. But, as I say, quality will not go unnoticed! People began asking for original pieces. As for his doggie line of furniture? Dustin happened to work in a dog friendly place (see, good pup karma will always follow you) and he notices that these pups were helping themselves to food and water out of margarine containers! Well, as you know, that is just not acceptable for our pooches and something needed to be done. Low and behold, Dustin created raised dog feeders for his working four legged colleagues and it was a hit! What makes his work so special? He uses 18^th century wood from old barns and the wood used was cedar, pine, hemlock and spruce.   The wood is refinished, sealed and stained to produce the art that you see posted here and on Facebook and Instagram. A picture truly is worth 1000 words – what beautiful work! Needless to say, through the magic of social media and word of mouth, Dustin has produced 600 custom orders world wide in less than a year!

Need a raised feeder for your cousin’s Christmas present in Alberta? He ships them! Nearby? Pick it up! These wood pieces go from $80-$150 depending on what you ask for. For an extra $15 your besty’s name will be showcased.   For these reasonable prices, everyone should have a nice piece for their pups!

Check out Dustin’s work on Facebook (Northern Pine Customs) and Instagram @northern.pine.customs.   Already have a piece by Dustin? Send us a pic and let us know how your pup likes his personalized furniture.

Still need one? Call Dustin at (289) 338-2464 or email at northernpinecustoms@gmail.com and mention Toronto Dog Spot to receive 20% OFF your next order.   Titan has been a good boy this year…perhaps he’ll find a little something under his stocking 🙂