Kutyaház ... szó szerint:)
Gone to the dogs … and having fun! Although the English saying “go to the dogs” means “to become worse in quality or character,” this is not true of Idaho’s Dog Bark Park Inn. Husband and wife Dennis Sullivan and Frances Conklin built their dog-shaped inn in 1997 and have been visited by dog-lovers from all over the country.
The couple are definitely dog-lovers themselves: they have been carving and selling wooden dogs for two decades, recreating over 60 breeds and poses of dogs. While it seems to be quite a feat to carve small folk-art style statues with a chainsaw, Dennis and Frances manage very well with dogs as small as 12.5 cm tall. Their most famous creations, however, are the two giant beagles. They were inspired by the roadside architecture popular in the early days of automobile vacation travel when travellers would often buy petrol, eat meals or stay overnight in a building that didn’t look like a building at all: the coffee pot or teacup gas stations, milk bottle shaped restaurants and the shoe and duck houses were joined by two canines.
Frances and Dennis have made sure to pick a friendly dog breed: beagles are small to medium-sized dogs, even-tempered, gentle and amiable. With the world’s most famous beagle, Snoopy in mind, it’s hard to imagine that this breed is a scent hound, developed in the 1830s in Great Britain for tracking hare, rabbit and deer. These intelligent dogs are often employed as detection dogs due to their great sense of smell and tracking instinct.
Toby is a 3.65 m tall statue, while Sweet Willy houses the Dog Bark Park Inn: the cosy bed-and-breakfast run by the family sleeps four, with a queen bed in the main section and two twin futons in the head, all decorated with canine-inspired furnishings. Open from April 1 to October 31, the entrance to the guesthouse opens from a private second story deck, and guests are treated to dog-shaped biscuits left on their pillows.
According to the owners, being in the doghouse is a good thing at Dog Bark Park Inn Bed & Breakfast. Besides being a charming escape from the ordinary, it also offers all the comforts of home, along with relaxing prairie views and starry nights from the second story deck. Idaho, a mountainous state in the north-western region of the USA, offers plenty of outdoor activities and the creators of the giant beagles are happy to help their guests pick something really memorable. Dog Bark Park has complimentary area travel literature and maps and taking a jet boat tour into nearby Hell’s Canyon or visiting a wolf centre are highly recommended. Staying at this B&B also provides the opportunity to learn about the Nez Perce Indian history and culture during a visit to the Nez Perce National Historical Park.
to carve – faragni
decade – évtized
breed – (kutya)faj
feat – tett
folk-art – népművészet
chainsaw – láncfűrész
roadside architecture – útmenti
canine – kutya
even-tempered – kiegyensúlyozott
amiable – szeretetreméltó
scent hound – kopó
tracking instinct – nyomkövető ösztön
to house – otthont adni
cosy – lakályos
queen bed – kisebb méretű franciaágy
futon – matracágy
second story deck – második szinten lévő erkély
to be in the doghouse – rossz helyzetben, bajban lenni
memorable – emklékezetes
complimentary – ajándékba adott
jet boat – vízsugaras motorcsónak
to recommend – ajánlani
opportunity to – lehetőség, alkalom valamire
