These Creatures of Everett sets a five-star table for your pet with attractive, ergonomic feeders

When metal fabricator and designer Frank Mansfield first set out to build a better pet feeder, he made do with whatever was handy -- milk crates, recycling bins, cardboard boxes. His aim was to place the food bowl at the most efficient feeding height for his pack of rescued pit bulls and lone Pomeranian.

After trial and error, he and business partner Dez Menendez settled on a wall-mounted hanging feeder, and his experiment soon grew into an Everett-based business, These Creatures, that offers ergonomically correct feeders for furry friends of all sizes. No more stiff necks while wolfing down kibble!

Choose from more than 60 adorable silhouettes of dog breeds, a few felines, a squirrel and an errant octopus. The animals are standing, sitting, lying -- and in the case of one French bulldog, smoking.

Each feeder is made of 12-gauge steel, powder-coated in contemporary colors like limecicle green, coral, parakeet (aqua-ish), pearl white and charcoal black. Feeders come with two removable stainless steel bowls and the hardware required for hanging them at just the right height.

In a nod to sustainability, the staff of two cuts to order, so there is no back stock or waste. The steel comes from a business just a block away, the cutting is done in-house and the powder coating is completed at another neighboring business.

As well as being business owners, Mansfield and Menendez are animal lovers and concerned citizens, so they donate a portion of their profits to a variety of pet projects and nonprofits that support everything from deaf dogs to barn owls.

Sizes and prices vary, relative to breed size. A Chihuahua feeder ($155) weighs about four pounds, while a Great Dane feeder ($275) is more than twice that weight and size. Feeders are available online at www.thesecreatures.com, Bark Natural Pet Care and Show Pony.

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