What do dogs love? That's right: food, balls and sticks. But while almost every house has food and a ball in it, sticks aren't always so easy to come by. Thankfully for residents in Kaiapoi, New Zealand, one bloke has gone and built a 'stick library' in a newly opened park.
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Andrew Taylor was trimming trees by his house when he asked himself who could make use of the branches he cut off - the answer, was of course dogs. From there, he was inspired to create perhaps the first ever stick library - which is basically a box which says 'stick library' on it.
He also cut and sanded the sticks to create perfectly formed dog sticks.
Mr Taylor's daughter, Tayla Reece, said it was typical of her dad to create something like this.
She said: "Our dog Bella had become a stick lover because she ripped to shreds any balls or toys.
"While trimming the trees, my dad found himself with a lot of dead branches, and knowing from experience how hard it can be to find a good stick, and that the new dog park was opening soon, he had the idea that he would save them and put them in some kind of box.
"When the park opened on November 30, mum and dad took Bella and sure enough there were no good sticks.
"Dad is the type of guy that is always thinking of things to make, so the next day he found a suitable crate and made the sign for the top.
"He decided to call it 'the stick library' because it implied that you return the stick once you're finished with it."
Pleasingly, the library proved extremely popular with both dogs and their owners, and Tayla even organised a stick library celebration.
She said: "I first shared the video to our Kaiapoi Residents Noticeboard on social media, where people thought it was a really awesome idea and shared pictures of their own dogs saying thank you or heading down and using the stick library.
"Shortly after that, I made an event asking people to meet me at the dog park on December 11 to celebrate the stick library and get some photos.
"Approximately 50 people turned up with their dogs and one guy even brought his cat.
"As people started to arrive there was a disbelief of how simple the idea was, but it's one of those ideas no one had thought of.
"All the dog owners appreciate it as they all have experienced the 'good stick search' which isn't always fruitful, it's an idea that just makes sense to them."
Happy chewing, doggos.
