Turkish high school students make solar-heated doghouse for strays

Turkish high school students in western Turkey's Kütahya province designed and built a doghouse for stray animals that is heated using solar energy.

Oğuz Özgür and Ahmet Ercan Kaya from Ahmet Yakupoğlu Fine Arts High School had the idea for the project after seeing the dogs living in their schoolyard deal with unfavorable weather conditions.

After receiving support from their biology teacher, the students developed the shelters, which collect solar energy and store it in a battery that transfers the energy to a mat on the floor of the doghouse to keep the animals warm in any conditions.

"Our aim is to prevent the animals from getting cold, to add convenience to their lives. The project will keep them warm even during snowy weather," Özgür said.

Muzaffer Efe, the biology teacher responsible of the project, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the students prepared the project draft and gathered the necessary materials, adding that the total cost of the project was about 100 Turkish liras ($19).

Efe said he is proud of his students, adding that the most important aspect is to increase human values.

"We try to change the way people look at stray animals because they have the right to live in this world just as much as we do," he said.