Abby's Own Play Pen (to share of course)

Since we are in rescue, we have a plethora of X-Pens around the house. X-Pens, for those who do not know, are metal exercise pens, and they fold accordian-style or open up to make pretty much any shape you would like. They come in 8 panels, and we use them not only at adoptions but at home as well, setting up safe play areas. We also use them when we introduce new dogs to the pack - new dog goes in the pen, with visual access to the dogs, going nose to nose until we know that everyone will be friendly.

With that said, Abby usually stays in either an X-Pen or the stroller while I am in class or at work. More often than not, she has been staying in the X-Pen as that has a pitty pad in it, and she can walk around if she so chooses (although she's a sleepy baby anymore with all the meds).

But with one teeny tiny paw on the one front leg, when she would lean up and rest the front leg on the wire, her teeny tiny toes would get splayed in the metal frame of the X-Pen...no bueno for the little chica! So my mom and I constructed a plan: if we were to build a play pen with a durable frame, soft siding, and easy overhead access, she would have a very safe, comfortable play pen....

It's scary when she and I brainstorm on an idea, because amazing work is always produced (smile). We designed a play pen with PVC pipe framing, poultry mesh siding, and voila! I had to redo the math several times as we kept changing the size of the pen...and of course, I hadn't logically figured out that each side would share a support with an adjacent side (it's a cube, without the solid fill)...

Then, we decided that it could be open in the back, so that it could attach to an X-Pen side or just fit snugly against the book case where it sits. Also, the pen itself would fit around a table we have in our living room, so that she would have a little doggie den...And we wanted to make the pen big enough for her to share with our oldest Chihuahua, Mr. Sweetie, who at 15 years old is onry, skiddish, and desirous of his own personal space...

Considering both dogs sleep throughout the day or engage in minimal movement, my mom and I surmised that these two would be okay with each other when placed in the pen together...

Thanks to my dad, I have a slightly more than basic understanding of the construction of PVC piping. I helped mom pick out the PVC, elbows (which of course had to be three-way Y elbows to join three joining PVC's to make a corner), the adhesive, and the mesh.

I got burned out by the end of the day that we picked all of this out, because it was Veteran's Day so I proffered myself to help mom run errands...but day after Veteran's Day, my mom was awake and working on the pen, but I had to go observe at an elementary school for my Urban Education class...

I was so stoked to get all handy and build, I figured I'd help her build after I got back from observation hours, but the day escaped me of course with other errands, and by the time I got home at lunch time, my mom had built an amazing Abby-proof playpen. To share with Mr. Sweetie, of course, and apparently their first afternoon together went well.

I put Abby in the pen this morning on my way to school, and I am so proud my mom constructed the engineerial piece of art! My dad has made two PVC piping monsters out of my mom and I, who could probably go in the backyard and fix all the inaccessible sprinkler piping!

I will post pictures as soon as I take them!