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Christmas Special: Introducing Tess From "Special Presentation" episode DBAR-S

Tess is a Christmas gift that will keep on giving.

This is Tess, a beautiful young lab mix that is about to have her Christmas wishes come true. She has been at the adoption center waiting for a time when the right family would come along and fall in love with her cute looks and wonderful disposition. That time is now! In this episode of Barkitecture, see Tess begin a new life with her new family and watch as an awesome doghouse is built just for her.

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7-year-old Jake Bacon is thrilled with his new pet.

Tess

The holiday season is a magical time and it's going to be especially so for Tess. The Bacon family, namely son Jake, is giving Tess a new lease on life. Tess is Jake's Christmas present this year! This was no easy decision for the Bacons, but they feel that having Tess will help teach 7-year-old Jake about responsibility. Tess is a gift that will keep on giving.

With her easy-going personality, Tess will make a great addition to the Bacon family. Raleigh and Renee Bacon have two children (Jake and Ellerie) and a nice big home. It's going to be a perfect setup for Tess...and this may just be the family's happiest Christmas ever!

Dr. Karen Tobias and Kenny Alfonso are on deck to help the transition from shelter to home a little easier on Tess. Dr. Karen will offer helpful hints and tips for Jake and his parents to care for Tess. Kenny will build Tess a funky and functional doghouse to stay in Jake's bedroom.

No screws or nails needed for this doghouse.

Puzzle Doghouse Plans

The Christmas season is here and Kenny wants to give Tess something extra special. Tess will be inside with the Bacons most of the time, but more specifically, Jake's bedroom. Kenny decides to build a doghouse that will go right in Jake's room. It will be cool and go along with the great atmosphere he already has going on in there. As a bonus, Kenny will make it multi-seasonal...an indoor house that is good year round. Merry Christmas, Tess!

Kenny is designing a doghouse that will be just as fun to build as it will be to look at. He will use gorgeous 1/2 inch Baltic birch plywood with exaggerated angles for a cartoonish effect. The real fun of the design is that there will be no screws or nails. This house is really just one big puzzle. The fun doesn't stop there. Kenny is also going to create a Christmas-themed, removable stencil to cover the huge amount of real estate on the roof. The nice part is, when the holidays are over, the Bacons can take the stencil off and replace it with one to fit any time of year. This should be a lot of fun!

Barkitecture Tidbits:

• The average life span of a dog ranges from 10 to 15 years. Keep this in mind when making the decision to get a dog.

• To help children keep up with the needs of their new pet, create a daily schedule for them to follow.

• Dogs do not understand the concept of language, so it is imperative we learn to communicate with them in a way that makes sense to them. Through repetition they learn specific sounds, facial expressions and body language.

RESOURCES :

Young-Williams Animal Center
Website: www.knoxpets.org

The American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Website: www.aspca.org

Petfinder.com
Website: www.petfinder.com