Volunteer Gives Dogs and Furniture a Second Chance

Suncoast Animal League volunteer Tia Bennett has her own unique, animal-loving view of the world. When Bennett sees a homeless pooch, she reaches out to help by becoming a foster parent.

Dogs are also on Bennett's mind when she's out perusing church tag sales, thrift shops and yard sales. A used chair or a drawer from a bureau might just be unwanted furniture to you and me, but Bennett sees these homeless castaways as objects that can be re-purposed into something stylish and useful, like a dog bed or an elevated dog feeder.

"I don't see it as junk, even if it's a weathered old table. It's all about reusing. What can we make that into?" she said.

Bennett has turned her love for animals and yard sale treasures into a new business called "Lucky Dog Gone Green." The busy mother of two has a home studio where she smashes colorful old plates into pieces for mosaic-decorated dog feeders and cuts up furniture, then stains and paints it and adds pillows to make charming dog beds. Bennett also paints pieces of wood to make decorative dog-themed signs. 

"Everything's different. It's 100 percent unique," she says.

The crafty entrepreneur says her furniture is more appealing and less expensive than some of the items you might see at pet stores.

"I've actually gone to the major pet stores and just the metal feeders with the bowls, you'd be amazed at how expensive they are. If you really are just wanting to raise the dishes, why not have something that is custom-made?"

One of Bennett's goals with the business is to provide pet owners with stylish, custom furniture created to accommodate a dog's height and size that will compliment decor in the pet owner's home.

Prices for dog furniture, toys, name tags and dog-themed decor start at $5 and go up to $60 and more, depending on the amount of work involved and cost of materials. Bennett sells her creations on her Lucky Dog Gone Green website and also updates her fans about her work on the Lucky Dog Gone Green Facebook page.

She gets lots of support from her husband Kevin and her two kids; Brendan, 15, who attends Palm Harbor University High, and Ryin, 11, who is a student at Garrison Jones Elementary in Dunedin.

"We're proud of her, she does a great job," says Kevin.

Molly, one of the family's three dogs, also helps out with the business. The spunky, floppy-eared, mixed-breed pooch serves as official product tester for the furniture. 

Bennett also owns her own marketing firm and has come up with a way that local businesses can help get the word out about their company to animal lovers while also helping local rescue organizations.

She offers a sponsorship program where businesses can pay to have furniture donated in their name to an animal rescue group. Sponsors are also recognized on the Lucky Dog Gone Green website and in social media, marketing materials and giveaways. 

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