Eagan Man's 'Doggie Bag' Contraption Goes Viral
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Eagan man is getting national attention for the creative way he is dealing with one of the challenges of owning a dog.
He came up with a solution for keeping his Boston terrier from squirming while he trimmed his nails.
Oliver, a 3-year-old rescue dog, is nestled in an old purse with holes in it, and attached to a pull-up bar in a doorway.
Patrick Peifer's daughter posted pictures of her dad's contraption on Twitter and it went viral within days.
The Peifers welcomed the spirited Oliver into their home about a year ago.
"He is kind of lazy. He sleeps a lot. His favorite thing is his bed," Peifer said.
But what Oliver doesn't like is getting his nails trimmed.
"The first time my daughter held him while I tried to clip his nails, it just didn't go well because he was squirming around," he said.
Peifer searched online for a device to help hold his dog still.
"I wanted to buy it but it was too expensive, it was almost $200," Peifer said.
And that is when he went into do-it-yourself model, using a pull-up bar he already had at home and an old purse he bought at a Goodwill store.
"So what I had to do is, after I cut the holes in it, I couldn't just stuff him in the purse. He wouldn't do that, so I had to cut it down the sides so that it would lay open," Peifer said.
He demonstrated how he got Oliver to reluctantly step in.
"It worked great. He didn't squirm or anything. He just hung there while I clipped his nails," he said.
Peifer said he has received positive messages from people who also decided to give this method a try.
"If I can inspire people to get more involved in taking care of their dogs, maybe just save them some money on expensive devices," Peifer said.
Then it's worth all the unexpected attention.
Peifer said he calls his creation "The Doggie Bag." The pictures of Oliver have been retweeted 86,000 times, and have received 340,000 likes since they appeared on Twitter a week-and-a-half ago.