Home & Garden: Cheap -n- Easy Dog Bed

Faithful creatures though they are, sometimes man's best friends just want a warm, safe spot to curl up and nap - and don't they deserve it?

Ready made dog beds can be expensive, though, and we've found that cleaning them can pose a real challenge: they don't fit in the washer very well, and if you hose them off on the back porch, they stay damp and mildew.

We racked our brains to find a solution to this problem that would make both Fido and ourselves happy. We believe we've found it, thanks to the miracle of dirty clothes.

Consider these key benefits:

• Dirty laundry, the primary component of our dog bed, is readily available in most households and will fit most budgets.
• The bedding materials get reused, making this an environmentally friendly proposition - something you can truly feel proud of.
• An average sized load of dirty clothes will provide a warm and comfortable bed for all but the very largest of dogs - and even they can be accommodate with the output of most families.
• Dogs just love the mingled scents of filthy socks and underwear, and will happily wallow in them for hours.
• The bedding is easily cleaned; simply throw it in the washer at regular intervals.
• If placed next to the dryer, there will be times when the dog bed is toasty warm.
• The tumbling dryer noise will cover up Spot's snoring.