Real Estate has gone to the DOGS.......

[Michelle Sampson]

I know the housing market is a mess, the foreclosure rate is out of control. But what if I told you that you could snag an amazing custom-designed Spanish-style mansion complete with arched windows, terra cotta tile floors and custom-trim work for just under 10K?

Think it's too good to be true? Well, for you, it probably is, but that's just what you can get for your favorite four-legged friend.

Dog mansions have become the newest trend in pampering your puppy. And I'm not talking about those old-school basic wooden boxes of the past - These new dog houses are beautiful custom-made petite pooch palaces that might just rival your own home.

Doggie Mansions is a Palm Beach-based "real estate firm" specializing in the creation of luxury homes for man's best friend. Each Doggie Mansion is custom built from the ground up, using the highest-quality materials and top notch craftsmanship.

The company's 'top dog' veteran real estate broker, Donald Gorbach, explains, "If you live in a Mediterranean-style estate with stone columns, marble floors, a barrel tile roof and beautiful landscaping, that is what we can recreate for your dog. If you prefer a beach house with white-washed shutters that is what we will build. The whole idea is to integrate your taste and style into the home we create especially for your pooch."

Other popular styles of dog homes include the Key West-style cottage, Hamptons-style beach house, the urban brownstone and the New England-style colonial. Each mansion can be built in various sizes depending on your dog's needs and owners have all the architectural options of a regular home including barrel-tiled roofs or architectural shingles, stone, tile or marble floors, hand-painted faux-finished walls, an outdoor deck or porch, operable windows and doors, sky lights, plants, rugs, lamps and other pint-sized furnishings.

Families with multiple pets can opt for a "Doggie Duplex" or two-room estate with separate entrances for each pet. Most amazingly, all mansions include interior and exterior lighting fixtures, a/c or heat, and are wired for electricity. The houses can also be outfitted with a flat-screen TV/DVD player (where your pooch can watch anything from Lassie to Underdog), Bose SoundDock and plenty of toys and games.

I don't know about you, but this time being in the dog house doesn't sound so bad. Hey no pun intended but this isn't really too far FETCHED.....we are in Sarasota after all..

Available at: Doggie Mansions

Peace and Pet Love