Michael C. Juliano of the Greenwich Time speaks with Elaine
Elaine Doran of Greenwich is helping cats and dogs get a good night’s sleep.
The former London florist who came to the United States from Hong Kong with her husband, a banker, in 2005, started her business called The Puppy Hugger after noticing that her Cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy kept curling up in a neck warmer to fall asleep.
“I thought this is obviously the shape dogs like to sleep in,” she said.
Doran said she started making C-shaped dog beds out of her Greenwich home, soon after which she was getting requests for beds in various shapes and sizes. Five years later, she’s busy making eight different shapes in five sizes for dogs and cats, thus adding “& Kitty Cats Too” in small print to the name of her business.
“I’m good with colors and making things,” said Doran, whose living room, basement and part of her garage have collectively become the “studio” for her craft requiring tables, sewing machines and reams of fabric. “All the products I’ve made after the first one are because people have asked for them.”
The Puppy Hugger line includes the C-shape, square beds, rectangular beds and heart-shaped beds. There’s also a bed for two dogs called “Two’s Company,” and a bed for three canines called, of course, “Three’s a Crowd.”