DIY Pallet Wood Dog Bed with Storage

I love these two with all my heart. I want them to be as well and cared for as possible, from giving them the best possible food to ensuring that they each have a GPS dog tracker so I know where they are if they should get lost. And I also want to know that they are comfortable. Casey, my boxer, is ten years old. I’ve had her since she was six months old. She’s quite the traveler, having trekked across the US from OK to MI. Casey had an older brother, Cain, who would have been 12 this November. Cain passed away in 2012.  He had been ill for quite some time, battling brain tumors that cause seizures. He was put on medication, and we were given a few more wonderful years. But, the medication reached a point where it stopped working, and one morning, Cain didn’t want to come out of his kennel.

I knew at that moment he had enough. We rushed him to the vet and found the tumors had spread. I had to make the choice to let him pass peacefully. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. I had started the website Cains Tails when he was first diagnosed. We had set up a fundraiser to help cover the cost of medications and we were hopeful to raise enough money for a much-needed MRI. That never happened. Over the years, I have thought about taking the site down. I turned the FB page into Tinks Tales but never posted on it. I guess I am just not ready to let him go completely.

Cain was my 4-legged son. He was a part of Oklahoma and the life I had there. I felt lost and empty without him, and I know Casey felt the same. That first night without her brother to lay next to wasn’t just heart breaking for me, it shattered her. I put her in her kennel and went off to bed. She rattled the cage and cried. This comes from a dog that never really ‘speaks.’ I let her out and let her sleep with me.

That was three years ago. She never left. Not only has Casey been sleeping with me all this time, in the Fall of 2012 we introduced a new member to our family. Little Miss Tink(erbell.) She is a Chug, part Chihuahua, part Pug. And while she is very vocal and a bit crazy; she has brought so much joy to our life. I still miss Cain something fierce and I still cry for him weekly. But these two, these two right here, keep me from losing more of myself in those thoughts.

My husband has restless leg syndrome. He’s what I call a flopper. He also snores. And not like Casey, like a freight train. I often wonder if the walls are rattling. Pair that with two dogs and a cat, along with my back and hip pains….well…I don’t get much sleep. Until we can afford those fancy smancy adjustable sleep number beds, we have been sleeping separately for quite some time. On our path to fixing that, hubs has created a super simple dog bed/storage bench.

So, here is my not-so-fancy, all-reclaimed material pallet bed. I have to say, I am pretty impressed with how it turned out. Hubs took the van to the mall and loaded it with pallets. Pulled them all apart. He dug some wood scraps out that he had left from other projects along with the plexiglass. The only thing he had to go to the hardware store to get were the hinges when I told him I wanted to use it for storage, too, if it would take up that much space. Originally, we had planned for drawers, but that did not work out in my favor.

I plan to get a thicker, furry pad for Casey to lay on. Tink prefers to still sleep down by my knees, and I’m okay with that. So, as Casey gets used to sleeping in her new bed, I’m pricing mattresses and such for a better sleeping arrangement for the rest of us.

I hope to get the hubs here to write out his directions and plans. *cross your fingers.*