Plans for dog-shaped vacuum cleaner come to light

LONDON - Does your dog get mad at the sight of a vacuum cleaner? Well, you can now take a breather, as plans for a dog-shaped vacuum cleaner designed to make pooches more comfortable around the household cleaning device have emerged.

Although a patent application was submitted in the UK in 1973, the unusual device was never produced, reports the Daily Mail.

Users would have grabbed onto a retractable suction nozzle located in the tail, which is designed to suck up dust and dog’s hair.

The vacuum cleaner itself is housed within the mechanical dog’s body and minimises the noise that has troubled dogs since the first motorised one was invented in 1889.

Its working title, submitted to the Patent Office in the UK, was ‘toy dog and vacuum cleaner combination.’

Ann Margaret Zelski wrote in her application: “In the past, vacuum cleaners have been devised for use on dogs for cleaning clipped hair and the like.

“These have not met with success because of the fear instilled in a dog at the sight of a vacuum cleaner and because of its very loud noise.

“An object of the present invention is to provide a novel combination of a toy dog and vacuum cleaner enclosed completely within the body of a toy dog so as to overcome the above named disadvantages.”

Next to the dog’s chest is an inlet grill to allow air to pass through the device.

A heater is next to the motor to heat the air used for blow-drying the owner’s pet.

Ann added: “It will be readily obvious that other shapes of dogs, not shown, may be used instead, preferably one to correspond to the particular type of dog to be groomed so that he will feel more friendly toward it.

‘Of course, cats or other pets may be similarly simulated in the toy animal configuration.” (ANI)