Yes, dogs CAN decorate! Check it out...

A friend of mine sent me this article from the London Telegraph. We used to live in London and this was our newspaper - that and the ultra-liberal USA Today (okay, we just wanted a US news tabloid - even if the news WAS 2 days old...)

This is so hilarious! I always envisioned my two schnauzers, Izzie and Shelby, looking pathetic and downtrodden when I left the house ONLY until they heard my car pull out of the garage and then swing into action watching Animal Planet shows, checking up on emails and fixing huge plates of Royal Canine nachos in the microwave.

Turns out SOME dogs do decorating. For those "not in the know", the ORIGINAL to our "Changing Spaces" was in the UK and called "Changing Rooms" and Carol Smilie is the equivalent to Paige (love her or hate her) here. And D.I.Y. is "do it yourself" as well as any store like Lowe's or Home Depot as in "Let's run down to the local D.I.Y. and get some new lino whilst we're out, darling"...

Hmmm, perhaps I should leave HGTV on the tellie whilst I'm away and take the remotes with me...brilliant!! Absolutely BRILL!

Doggie D.I.Y: dogs get their paws into some home decorating

Ever wonder what your dogs get up to when you leave the house? No doubt you never consider D.I.Y as an option. Fido and Bob here have decided to treat their owners to a Changing Rooms makeover. But first, the obligatory cup of tea and biscuits (it's in their contract.)

To begin with, our dynamic duo take the necessary precautions to preserve their home by laying dust sheets

Bob gets to work with a spot of sanding. He may be enthusiastic, but the stupid mutt's forgotten to wear a mask - he'll be sick as a dog if he's not more careful

Looks like Bob's gone a bit too far with a sledgehammer... and he's run out of Poly! He'd better get B&Q on the dog 'n' bone

Fido gets to work on the walls with a beautiful sky-blue. Painting's a bit of a challenge if you have paws. Looks like someone's going to be in the doghouse when his owners get home

Want a good way to get around a dog eared paint job? Wallpaper over it. It's also a good way to get around nagging colleagues, or collies

Meanwhile, toilet-trained Fido checks out the Page 3 stunner, Fifi LaWoof from Birmingham

Who's a good boy? Bob washes that paste out of his fur...

...and when he's bone dry, he gets to work on the dining room. Not sure about swinging cats, but there's certainly enough room to spin a dog in here

Then he puts up a set of shelves. Looks a bit wonky, but what do you expect? The poor pooch can't see colours!

The boys aren't bad at the decorating lark, but when it comes to plumbing it looks like you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and they're both 70 (in dog years)

Get Carol Smillie in here! After working like dogs, Fido and Bob are dog tired

Bob and Fido - If you want your home to go from a dog's den to a poochie palace, you know who to call.

The images all appear in the 2009 Make Over Mutts calendar, available here unless you live in the USA and then you're out of luck, which is unfortunate because I'd proudly display this in my office any day. Perhaps I can catch Shelby and Izzie on hidden cameras and make my own American fortune...

Oh, and for those scratching "behind their ears" about the Page 3 reference? Well, in the UK most newspapers, ahem, "enhance" circulation "figures" by having a buxom girl on page 3...sans anything but a garment seemingly made of dental floss. Not the Telegraph I might add. But it is a bit of a shocker when you visit, are riding the train and pick up a newspaper that seems to be, well, a regular newspaper, only to find "a pair and a spare" staring at you. Then you get paranoid about which newspaper your husband reads...

With thanks to my friend Kathleen as well as Telegraph.co.uk. And of course credit to the photographer ICARUS, listed on the original website.

And people say the British have no "sense of humour".