Pet projects pricey

Gayle Plessner and her husband love their dogs, but the sound of the rain on the roof of their home in Westlake Village, a planned community on the border of Los Angeles, made them lament winter, the season of muddied paws, in 2012.

"I remember thinking that it would be great if we had a mud room for the dogs," Plessner said.

So when the couple decided to remodel their six-bedroom contemporary home in April 2013, Plessner turned a 10-by-12-foot room off the laundry room into a pet zone, adding a water-resistant polka-dot floor and a separate dog door with access to the backyard for Lucy, a 2-year-old golden retriever; Hermione, a 5-year-old pug; and Snoop, a 6-year-old Chihuahua mix.

Plessner was going to eliminate the bathtub in the bathroom adjoining the dogs' room but instead removed the glass shower doors and made the tub accessible to the dogs.

Designers say more dog owners are considering their pets' needs when building or remodeling their homes: asking for pooch-friendly spaces, ordering specialized cabinets for pet bowls and food, and adding canine-only showers and tubs.

"Pets and children are very important to our homeowners. So whether it's dogs or cats or gerbils or fish, we need to include them in the design process," Los Angeles architect Tim Barber said.

Marc Bekoff, author of "Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed," said pets want to feel at peace and safe. "Animals are smart and emotional, and people are now factoring that into a lot of things. And a place in the house where a dog can get away from it all is really important."

Whether with people or their environment, dogs also crave contact.

Pacific Palisades, Calif., resident Pam Fillo considered the need for contact when designing a breakfast nook in 2008. Taking her cue from a magazine article that featured a window-bench-style seat with a single carved opening for a pet, Fillo hired Barber's firm to design a built-in dining bench with three arched openings for her dogs. Each nook provides room for a dog bed.

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Pet projects pricey