Life With Dogs: Dogs Who Like To Stick Their Heads Through Fence Holes Become Art

Sometimes a backyard fence is a dog’s worst enemy. These wooden planks block their access to street views and cut them off from chasing squirrels to power lines. I’ve heard of people installing little “windows” in their fences, but never seen any that look quite like this.

Ripley and Burger, two dogs with a passion for peeking through their backyard fence, bring joy to everyone walking by. It’s not just that they’re adorable when they stick their heads through the fence hole their family made for them. They turned their dogs’ habit into beautiful works of art.

These fence-based art installments appear on Instagram, and they range from face-in-hole movie posters to classic works of art. Take Burger in a game of Pac Man for instance.

Sometimes both Ripley and Burger “fight” it out for space in the art installation. Or, you know, its original purpose of providing a view of the neighborhood. They shared a feature in “The Dog With The Bone Earring.”

This fence hole came about in order to stop Burger from trying to dig under the fence. Brian Stanley, the dogs’ dad, told the Dodo:

“As soon as I was done, Burger had his head through it and immediately stopped digging. Best decision ever!”

Bringing Smiles To Neighbors During A Difficult Time

The dog fence craft came about at just the right time for Burger and Ripley’s family. It also came at just the right time for their quarantined neighbors.

“At first it started as a joke with my wife that I was going to paint something on the street side of the fence around the dog window, but then the idea of painting an actual picture and hanging it up to frame the hole started to form in my mind.”

The first project was their doggie version of “The Scream” they called “The Bark.” Stanley worked on it with his 7-year-old son Cameron. Initially, they planned to just do the one. After that though, the ideas just kept coming.

This fence hole art really does something for everyone. Right now during the pandemic, we could all use a little more joy in our days.

“The shutdown brought an obvious black cloud along with it. Even though more people were out on the street walking or biking, we knew it was due to job loss and uncertain times. I first talked about it to my son who was 100% behind the idea of putting something up on the fence to hopefully bring a smile to people’s faces.”

The Critics Are Raving!

Since they started decorating around Burger and Ripley’s lookout spot, people have offered words of appreciation to the family. Some even plan their days around seeing what’s new.

“People have told us that they plan their walks and bike rides to go by our fence and some people will even alter their drives so it takes them past it. I have been outside on multiple days with the dogs and see people walk up and take selfies with the fence and Burger. People bring treats to him and he just soaks up the attention.”