When is a Dog Bed a Lifesaver?

According to a controversial new study published in the February issue of the Centers for Disease Control journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, sleeping with pets can put some people at risk for serious medical problems. “I know this will make me unpopular, but pets really don’t belong in your bed,” says vet Bruno Chomel, co-author of the paper. 

At greatest risk for zoonoses (diseases transmitted from animals to people) are the very young, the elderly, and those whose immune systems are compromised, such as transplant patients, diabetics, and people who are HIV-positive. Please don’t panic if Spot or Fluffy jumps on your bed – as long as pets are up-to-date with vet visits, everything will be fine.

But if you do plan to banish pets from your bed, the kindest, gentlest way to do this is by providing the comfiest, most paw-supportive dog bed possible. Give it pride of place in the bedroom, and Spot won’t even miss your bed.

Sweet dreams!

New Yorker Julie Klam is the author of the best-selling dog memoir “You Had Me at Woof,” which chronicles her adventures in Boston Terrier rescue. A must-read, the book is really wonderful: alternately heartbreaking and hilarious,but always heartfelt.

Julie is a hardcore dog lover, and although her heart belongs to Bostons, she won’t hesitate to help any dog in need, regardless of breed. This past summer, she and her family came across a sweet pit bull who had been abandoned outdoors for hours in the hot sun. Says Julie: “I wasn’t going to leave him there – I would leave myself there first.” The pit, named Puck, is a staff favorite at The Simon Foundation, an excellent animal sanctuary in Connecticut where he awaits his forever home. (To inquire about adopting him, go here.)

Meanwhile, back in New York City, Julie insists that her daughter Violet, age 7, is the real dog person in the family. “She’s the biggest dog lover I have ever met in my life – she makes me look indifferent,” Julie says with a laugh. Here’s Violet enjoying a cat-nap with K9 Dahlia on a size-medium dog bed that’s big enough for two!

Posted by Julia Szabo.

Crypton celebrates Take Your Dog to Work Day!

At Crypton, Molly B. Rubin wants everyone to know that every day is Take Your Dog to Work Day – but with the rest of the country celebrating this special day today, we figured we’d get off to an early start. So, this past Wednesday in New York City, our favorite artist, William Wegman, hosted a fun breakfast event at his studio to unleash the new dog-themed designs he’s dreamed up for Crypton.

Guests got a tour of the artist’s studio, and a chance to see his marvelous muses at work. You know those incredbly statuesque poses they’re famed for? Well, Wegman’s three  weimaraners – Bobbin, Candy, and Penny – really do strike these photogenic poses naturally, all on their own. All the artist has to do is gently ask them to, stay, step up on an ottoman  and they happily oblige, without cajoling or even the offer of a treat. Talk about loyal, uncomplaining employees.

These are attention hounds, so they thrive on interaction with people – especially the favorite folks they see every day: the artist, his wife Christine Burgin, and the couple’s two teenage daughters. But the wondrous Weimaraners also adore meeting new friends and catching up with old ones. And the photo above is the proof: Check out Penny, who stopped for a cuddle and a photo opp with Crypton’s own Randy Rubin.

Posted by Julia Szabo.

Great Design Links From Randy:

Each week, Randy Rubin, co-owner of Crypton, features articles or blogs that resonate with Crypton’s core goals: providing clean, beautiful design for everyday living.

Everyday living means life with kids, pets, and anything else that finds a way into your home. Below are just a few thoughts and ideas we are inspired by this month.

This week’s featured link: Yolksy

Yolksy: “fresh ideas hatched daily,” interior designer Annie May blogs about creative inspiration for designers and decorators. In addition to featuring photos of
well-designed spaces, she adds a twist with her “Beat Boxed” entries: developing an interior décor feel around the sounds of a specific song, artist or band.

A new reason to appreciate Crypton dog beds 

My dog Tiki, a charming Chow-Rottweiler cross that I adopted from an animal shelter 11 years ago – and the handsome K9 cover model of my book, “Pretty Pet-Friendly” – was recently diagnosed with oral cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of this deadly disease.

This nightmare started when the right side of Tiki’s snout appeared slightly swollen; within a few days, my dog’s snout was seriously distended, as if he had a cherry tomato wedged in there. A visit to the vet confirmed that there was an abnormal, scary-looking growth high up on his gum. But a needle-aspirate biopsy returned from the lab “inconclusive.” Still, the tumor’s frightening speed of growth indicated that it was most likely cancerous. Not wanting to waste a precious minute of Tiki’s time, I decided to fight this thing with the alternative cancer treatment Neoplasene.

Formulated from alkaloids in the bloodroot plant, Neoplasene is the brilliant invention of Dr. Terence Fox of Buck Mountain Botanicals in Montana. It’s an alternative form of  chemotherapy that’s highly effective, and much less expensive than surgery, radiation, or traditional chemo. Unlike traditional chemo, which attacks all of the body’s cells (healthy as well as unhealthy), Neoplasene targets only the cancerous cells and leaves healthy tissue unharmed. It’s a beautiful thing, and more dog lovers need to know about it, because it really works. (To locate an animal hospital near you that uses Neoplasene, contact Buck Mountain Botanicals.) 

Today I have wonderful news to report: After three injections under anesthesia, administered at the Humane Socity of New York’s excellent clinic, Tiki’s face began showing dramatic signs that his body was evicting the cancer. Now, there’s an inch-wide crater of clean, healthy tissue on his snout where the cancer used to be; and it’s healing up beautifully. To prevent a recurrence, Tiki will be taking twice-daily doses of oral Neoplasene with his food for the rest of his life. 

So, where does Crypton fit in to this story? Simple: When the healing crisis happened, Tiki’s snout basically began spurting blood all over the place. This was the desired result, and cause for celebration, but it would have been quite a complicated cleanup job if not for our trusty Crypton dog beds and Throvers! What’s more, I’ve had to apply a thick, dark-yellow “Wound Balm” (also made by Buck Mountain Botanicals) to Tiki’s snout several times daily – and inevitably, the balm winds up rubbing off. But a quick wipe-up, followed by a spin in the
washing machine, and everything comes out looking like new. 

That means I can be completely ecstatic about Tiki’s success with this alternative cancer treatment, without worrying about how to get rid of the mess. Thank you, Crypton!

Special thanks to Lev Gorn for his beautiful portrait of Tiki.

Posted by Julia Szabo.

Great Design Links From Randy

Each week, Randy Rubin, co-owner of Crypton, features several articles or blogs that resonate with Crypton’s core goals: providing clean, beautiful design for everyday living.

Everyday living means life with kids, pets, and anything else that finds a way into your home. Below are just a few thoughts and ideas we are inspired by this month.

Trendir: A go-to source for the latest in high-end design trends, Trendir features a wide range of the luxury styles in home décor as chosen by interior designer Lillian Pikus. We were especially taken by the recent post on carved wooden wall paneling

Coochicoos: If you’ve ever felt as though children and modern design cannot co-exist in a home, Coochicoo should be the next blog on your list. A whirlwind of ideas, DIY projects, and products designed for parents and children alike, Robert Yang’s blog proves that “design” and “parent” belong in the same sentence.

Randy’s Picks: Great Design Links

Each week, Randy Rubin, co-owner of Crypton, features several articles or blogs that resonate with Crypton’s core goals: providing clean, beautiful design for everyday living. Everyday living means life with kids, pets, and anything else that finds a way into your home. Below are just a few thoughts and ideas we are inspired by this month.

Design Mom: Gabrielle Blair writes about the space where “design and motherhood intersect.” As a mother of five, she certainly knows the design challenges facing a home with children.
In addition to posts on décor (check out her thoughts on textures, she also explores fashion, photography and crafts.

Swag the Dog : With the tagline, “Cool stuff for Lucky Dogs,” this blog features all the best items to pamper your stylish pup. Our own Molly B. is quite pampered herself, and we always appreciate  designers who knowhow to spoil their pups.

Each week, Randy Rubin, co-owner of Crypton, features several articles or blogs that resonate with Crypton’s core goals: providing clean, beautiful design for everyday living.

Everyday living means life with kids, pets, and anything else that finds a way into your home. Below are just a few thoughts and ideas we are inspired by this month.

Material Girls: Like some of our featured reads last month, this blog is packed with photos to inspire contemporary design. Check out the post showcasing the many iterations of BarcelonaChairs (and Crypton’s version , while you’re at it)

How do I select beautiful furniture that will work with my pets?: The Denver Post Homegirls blog met with Tennille Wood to hand out tips on decorating with pets – including special tips for any “chewers or scratchers.” Wood, an interior designer, also blogs about luxury style at Beautiful Habitat.

What fun to have my new book, Pretty Pet-Friendly: Easy Ways to Keep Spot’s Digs Stylish and Spotless, featured in Katie Knorovsky’s great Washington Post Express article about high-style pet accessories, including the Crypton Throver! The book was also featured in Jill Sell’s terrific story on pet-friendly decor for the Cleveland Plain Dealer!

I had one goal when authoring Pretty Pet-Friendly: to encourage shelter-animal adoption by helping animal lovers with simple, easy-to-follow tips to keep a neat, orderly, and above all, chic “animal house.”

Of course, Crypton figures prominently in the book. And to drive my point home, when styling the cover shoot, I arranged to have an icon of chair design custom-upholstered in Crypton Suede “Icing”:  Milo Baughman’s 989 Lounge Chair, originally designed in the 1960s, is still manufactured by Thayer Coggin, renowned furniture makers in North Carolina, USA.

Besides sporting a stylish, sumptuous fabric cover that’s pretty impervious to stains, moisture, odors, and bacteria (thank you, Crypton), this pretty, pet-friendly chair sits on a metal frame – which makes it claw- and jaw-proof to boot. As for Icing’s pale purplish-periwinkle-blue hue, it’s so chic that my publisher’s graphic-design team chose it as the accent color of the inside pages!

How do you keep your “animal house” chic and clean? Tell us in the comments.