A RUFF CHOICE FOR FIDO; THOSE SEEKING A BARE-BONES DOGGIE DOMICILE ARE BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE AT THIS SHOW.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

From Fifi to Spike, dogs don't ask for much.

Just a couple of squares a day. A rub on the tummy and a bone or two. Oh, and maybe air conditioning to ruffle those floppy ears. Or a personal television set that can be turned on and off with the poke of a paw. A kibble bar for when friends drop by.

Just your basic canine necessities.

The bare bones of posh pads for pooches - in a show titled ``Cool Dogs ... Hot Digs II'' - are on display weekdays through April 23 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

And after everybody and his dog has had a chance to take a look, the decadent digs will be auctioned off to the highest bidders, with proceeds going to PAWS/LA (Pets are Wonderful Support), a nonprofit organization that helps people with AIDS and HIV feed and care for their pets.

``Our first show was two years ago; we had 30 doghouses and raised $40,000,'' said Joel Kimmel, a spokesman for PAWS/LA. ``This year, we have twice as many houses, and hope to raise twice as much money.''

PAWS/LA operates on a $500,000 annual budget, with volunteers serving more than 1,500 clients and more than 2,300 animals.

Courtney Thorne-Smith, a cast member of Fox TV's ``Ally McBeal'' and a longtime supporter of PAWS/LA, will host the April 23 auction. Minimum bids on doghouses are $250, and last year, some sold for up to $3,000, said Bret Parsons, one of the event's organizers.

Doghouse designers - local architects, interior designers, set decorators and artists - have whipped up a wild collection of dog-sized homes. Some designers embellished a basic A-frame or flat-roofed doghouse; others struck out on their own with more fanciful shapes.

This year's show includes a lighthouse, a wartime bunker, a futuristic igloo, a pagoda, a weatherproof dog hut on a surfboard, ornate mansions, an Egyptian temple, a red barn, two Arabian tents and - what else? - a hot dog stand.

Bob Williams, a props expert for Wilcox Studio Props in North Hollywood, said he designed a ``manly style'' bunker of a doghouse he named ``The Terminator'' specifically to appeal to action-movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

``We've made sure Arnold knows it's here. If he doesn't buy it, hopefully somebody with a lot of money will,'' said Williams, who builds specialty props for Tom Selleck's new sitcom. ``PAWS is a great cause, and they need all the money they can get.''

Williams' doghouse - fitted out for combat with a dog's favorite prey, cats - is covered with mock sandbags, hand grenades and a rifle with a scope. It's even topped with a radar installation. A stuffed black crow wields a pair of field glasses as a working fan wafts the aroma of tuna from a giant can to lure any unaware feline that might be meandering past.

A cast-metal, igloo-shaped doghouse with a leather interior and various dog-powered amenities - such as air conditioning, television and a button a pooch can push with a paw to open and close the ramp-style door - was devised by John Zabrucky, one of the partners in Modern Props of Los Angeles.

``They gave us a basic wooden doghouse, but we think in a little more futuristic style,'' said partner Mark Robinson, whose firm has done props for ``Blade Runner,'' ``Star Trek,'' ``Men in Black'' and ``Starship Troopers.''

Although the doghouse is designed as a canine's castle, chances are someone may buy it to use as a sculpture or just a conversation piece, he said.

``It's a little elaborate for a dog,'' said Robinson. ``But who knows? There may be someone out there who has a very pampered dog.''

Pampered? Nah, just giving every dog his due in Dog Town USA, assembled by the Set Decorators Society of America.

Although some doghouses are few-frills models, decorated with mosaics, paint, flowers and other frippery, others look like mini stage sets. Like the casita with adobe walls, a flat, red-tile roof and fake cactuses all around. Or the pagoda in red and black, complete with turned-up roof corners and tiny temple-dog statues at the entrance.

One tiny canine cottage has a ``Wizard of Oz'' theme that would make Toto feel right at home, from the yellow dog-biscuit road leading into the front door and the psychedelic flowers and ruby slippers inside. A tornado of wire, ensnaring tiny farm animals and other stuff, erupts through a ragged, open patch in the roof. And, just like in the movie, the lifeless feet of the Wicked Witch, encased in striped socks, protrude from underneath the house.

Appealing both to human and doggy appetites is a look-alike for the Tail o' the Pup hot dog stand on San Vicente Boulevard, complete with a phony hot dog on a bun - made of fiberglass and weatherproof foam - as the roof.

``I used to have a little dog who liked hot dogs and who liked to go there,'' said metal furniture designer Jill Seawright Curtin of Hermosa Beach. ``It was a favorite spot.''

Curtin also has in the show two dog-sized tepees that she terms ``wagwams.''

More modern is a sleek plastic doggie duplex shaped like a pair of burgundy-colored sunglasses, with places for a small pooch to curl up behind each of the ``lenses.'' Appropriately enough, it was designed by L.A. Eyeworks.

The most elaborate - and most expensive - doghouse in the show is a 7-foot-tall, Nantucket-style lighthouse with a rotating, working light. There's plenty of room for the canine lighthouse keeper in the attached cottage, painted to match.

``One of my favorite things in the world is lighthouses,'' said Thomas Callaway, whose staff at his Santa Monica architecture, interior design and landscaping firm spent two months creating the $10,000 structure. ``The only negative I see is that this one's so big, it may not fit into everyone's situation. But I hope there's someone with enough room who will cherish it.''

Specialty doghouses are on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until April 23 in the Pacific Design Center's Blue Lobby, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. Admission for the April 23 cocktail party and auction costs $40 per person; the event begins at 5:30 p.m.

Wanted: temporary home for Baby, loving lab mix

Our model, Baby, a lab-shepherd mix, is checking out doghouses with a purpose: She's looking for a temporary home. Baby's owner has become too ill to keep her, but her new owner can't take her until he moves into a house in June, so PAWS/LA is searching for a foster home for the next two months. Baby's a female, spayed and housebroken; PAWS/LA will provide food and veterinary care for a foster parent. If you can provide Baby a temporary foster home or want information on other pets that need homes, call PAWS/LA at [phone], Ext. 114.

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Cover--Color) Designer digs

Local artists give new meaning to being `in the dog house.'

(2) Among the ``Cool Dogs'' items to eye is a sleek plastic doggie duplex shaped like a pair of burgundy-colored sunglasses.

(3) Baby, a lab-shepherd mix, is checking out doghouses with a purpose: Through PAWS/LA, she's looking for a temporary home.

(4) The most elaborate - and most expensive - doghouse in the show is a 7-foot-tall lighthouse with a rotating, working light.

(5) ``The Terminator'' bunker was created specifically to appeal to action-movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

(6) Appealing both to human and doggy appetites is a look-alike for the Tail o' the Pup hot dog stand, complete with a phony hot dog on a bun as the roof.

John McCoy/Daily News

BOX: Wanted: temporary home for Baby, loving lab mix (see text)