By Daily Mail Reporter
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Plans for a dog-shaped vacuum cleaner designed to make pooches more comfortable around the household cleaning device have come to light.
The bizarre motorised cleaner was supposed to ease the fears of man’s best friend while the chores are being carried out.
But although a patent application was submitted in the United Kingdom in 1973 the unusual device was never produced.
Dog cleaner: The patent was issued in November 1973 – but the device was never produced
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.’ The patent, which was submitted in the UK, has only just come to light.
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.’
Novel idea: It remains unclear why Ann Margaret Zelski’s idea did not get beyond the drawing board
Ann goes on to explain that the device has several novel dog-related features. It can be set to blow in order to dry a pooch after a bath.
Similarly, flea powder or talcum powder can be put inside the cleaner to be ‘blasted’ on to the mutt during a dog grooming session.
In bizarre set of five drawings submitted with the application, a dog can be seen with a tube running from its tail to a motor located in its chest.
No fear: Hidden inside a ‘dog’ the novel vacuum cleaner was supposed to be quiet to avoid frightening real pooches
Obedient: A dog is not frightened of a modern James Dyson ‘Groom tool’ vacuum cleaner – unlike the motorised devices of the 1970s when the novel idea was patented
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 adds: ‘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.’
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