Cute little dog!
Great idea about the hot water heater closet. Ours is in the weirdest place on the earth. House was custom built by a contractor on drugs, and the design reflects that (Seriously, he lost the house to foreclosure because of his habit). I just went upstairs to see how warm ours is. First you go through a bedroom, then through a walk in closet with a door at the end. Go through that door, step down into a strange odd long and narrow room with a window and a slanted roof. Walk through that room, turn and there is the water heater closet. Across from that is a door that leads to a view deck. Strange...... Anyway, it's a good idea and I may just put some cuttings from MY trees in there to experiment.
Suzi