The Reyes family have found something to do together, that also benefits some of their four-legged friends.
Orion Township resident Barry Reyes, along with this father Santos and daughter Lyndsay, began constructing and selling heated and insulated dog houses about one year ago, and say that so far business is booming.
“It’s something we can do together,” Barry said.
“I’m retired and it’s something to occupy me,” said Santos. “I’ve seen the other way people make houses for dogs, they just slap them together.”
Not so with the Reyes’ creations; The houses, which can be built for dogs or cats, come insulated and heated, and can be made to match your own home.
“There’s a couple of different designs we use…We tell people if they are interested in a house, to give us the color of the trim…we try to match it to their house, even the color of the roof.
Building a house takes about four hours from start to finish, and dog houses can be built for Cocker Spaniel-sized pooches up to Great Danes.
“Every house is a custom house,” Barry said. “We usually build 4-6 a week. We’ve been busy lately, with the cold weather.”
The houses are heated with a heat lamp containing either a 250-watt or 125-watt bulb. The insulation is syrofoam, such as that used around basements, which is “sandwiched” between plywood.
“That’s so the dog can’t have access to it,” said Barry. “A lot of these people spend a lot of money on their pets…but after all that money, you notice they have a little, flimsy house. It’s important to adequately house them, especially in this weather.”
Houses can also be built to accommodate two dogs at once, and the Reyes have two dogs of their own and three dog houses. Lyndsay, 13, serves as the “official painter.”
“She wants to be a vet,” Barry said.
“It’s fun,” said Lyndsay. “We talk and spend a lot of time together.”
For more information about ordering a house, contact Barry Reyes at 391-1493.