Pet’s Place: DIY Projects and a Pup Named Griffin

Griffin was the only puppy to survive his litter, so the foster program staff gave him a name that means strength. “It fits him so perfectly,” Radosevich says, “and I was glad he had a cool name, because the pressure of picking one is too much!”

On the job. Radosevich runs her DIY site, I SPY DIY, out of the home she renovated, and she continues to decorate and update daily.

But before she starts the workday, she and Griff walk to the local coffeeshop. “Griff is hyped until he walks,” she says, “so a morning walk is mutually beneficial, and quite a refreshing way to start the day.”

He also joins her at any out-of-the-home meetings and evening happy hours at dog-friendly bars. “He comes with me everywhere,” she says.

When it’s time to work from home, Griffin curls up with a bone on the soft rug and is set for the rest of the day.

House rules. Griffin can roam anywhere in the house except the closets. “I know how tempting those nice leather shoes can be,” Radosevich says.

Modeling. Radosevich documents and shares images of her home almost every day, and Griffin typically makes a cameo. Here he munches on his food while Radosevich photographs her newly remodeled kitchen.

“He has been the star of quite a few photo shoots,” Radosevich says. You can see more photos of Griffin around the house here.

Payment method. After a shoot, Griffin always gets a treat. He hears the word treaty and comes running into the room, sitting down like a good boy immediately.

Design for the dog. Before he outgrew his doghouse, Griffin spent a lot of time napping inside the multipurpose piece. It has a shelf with food bowls, a tree for his leash and a shelf on top.

Radosevich now uses the house to store Griffin’s toys. She recommends having a designated toy and bone basket, “so your pup pulls from there instead of your closet.”

She also suggests adding hooks and a shelf in the entry for other dog supplies. You can hang up your pet’s leash and stash your own scarf and shoes on the self. “Keep anything you don’t want your puppy to chew on off the ground,” she says.

Doghouse: Sauder; browse doghouses

Color-coordinated. Griff jumped and landed wrong on his leg at doggie daycare this summer, Radosevich says. He was in a cast for a month and had to do a lot of sitting around during that time. On this day, he snoozed on the blue settee, which Radosevich reupholstered, with his matching blue cast. “Awww, it was so sad,” she says, but he “is totally healed now and back to being his happy puppy self.”

Settee fabric: Shibori Diamond Blue, Spoonflower

Home, sweet home. “Life has totally changed for the better since I fostered and adopted Griff,” Radosevich says. “He brings so much life and happiness to my home. I make him wear coordinating bandannas, listen to ’90s rap in my truck, sleep on my smelly feet to keep them warm … and he still loves me so darn much. More than I could even imagine. Griff is the best.”