Recently in eco-friendly Category

This little item comes by way of the Dog Clothes Horse blog about an ongoing experiment that originated in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y.:

Several years ago, dog owners (in Ithaca) began worrying about all the plastic bags filled with dung that ended up in the landfill.

Leon Kochian, a professor of plant biology at Cornell and, more to the point, the owner of a yellow lab, recalled the thinking at the time: "This is Ithaca. There's got to be a more environmentally sensible way to do this."

This year, with Mr. Kochian's nudging, one of the city's dog parks -- part of the Allan H. Treman Marine State Park  -- became a dog waste composting park.

Special corn-based bags, made by the Biobag Company based in Florida, are available at several stations in the park. Dog owners put the bag and its contents into large bins near the park's entrances, which are removed once a week by a company called Cayuga Compost.

AT its composting facility, Cayuga dumps the waste into a pile -- mixed with a bit of yard and wood waste -- quite separate from the company's regular food-waste compost.

And there it will sit -- until the company figures out what it might be good for.

Late next year, Cayuga plans to run tests to determine the composition of the dog waste (after all, a dog's diet is arguably more varied than virtually any other animal's, in accordance with the whims of their owner). If it matures into nutrient-rich compost, it might be applied to potted plants or landscaping, said Mark Whittig, Cayuga's operations manager. If the compost is of poorer quality, it could be used for blending with topsoil, he said.

So there you go.

For the full story, go to the The New York Times.

The folks at Green Dog blog picked up on a clever way to save money by using what you have to provide a bed for your dog. It's called the Jet-Set Dog Bed.

Basically, it's a dog bed created from an old suitcase.

Ingredients:

• Suitcase with floppy opening side
• Heavy-duty double-sided tape
• Pillow (or two, depending on the suitcase size)
• Fuzzy bath mat (slightly larger than inside of suitcase)

  Not for everyone -- or every decor -- perhaps, but a unique idea, especially considering the high cost of dog beds.

You can also find instructions for making your own cat condo and "quilted dog jacket" at the ReadyMade web site.

** Dogs will naturally take to something like this, I'm convinced, but maybe smaller dogs more than bigger canines. Last time I moved, I frequently found my scruffy terrier Fritz curled up in one of the boxes waiting to be unpacked. The laundry basket was another favorite hangout.

My dogs now are quite content to use the well-worn dog beds I've had on the floor for a few years. Cowboy plunked down in one almost immediately after I brought him home nearly a year ago and it remains his favorite special spot.

So where do your dogs like to hang out? Your furniture? Fancy dog beds? The laundry hamper?