Pop inside for a bite to eat, pet..
PETITE pugs and cute corgis are set to become the centre of attention at Newcastle’s very first dog cafe, we can reveal.
The city’s premier pooch stop for dog lovers and stressed-out city dwellers who can’t keep pets is going to be called The Dog and Scone – and it’s opening right next door to Mog on the Tyne, the city’s first cat cafe.
Animal cafes of all kinds, populated by cats, dogs, hedgehogs and even owls, are hugely popular in Asia, and they are gradually making an appearance here in the UK and Newcastle, which now has two cat cafes.
The Dog and Scone owners, Shi Shi and Rainbow Noi, said they spent a year waiting for a unit in Newcastle city centre to come up that would be the right size for their needs, and they snapped up the chance to open in Pudding Chare as soon as the empty former takeaway became available.
Work is now under way on fitting out the interior, to create a family friendly environment where their dogs – Momo, Lucky, Yuki, Morning, Laughing and Coffee – will also feel at home. The university graduates, who live in the West End of Newcastle, will bring in their six dogs from home every day, where they can be petted by customers who will pay a £5 entry fee and be able to buy drinks and treats.
However, the dogs won’t stay in the cafe overnight and all the dogs in the cafe will be back home with the couple every night.
Shi Shi said: “We are very excited to be opening up, and hopefully we’ll be able to have first customers at the end of May. “I got my first dog Momo, a toy poodle, in 2014 and since then our family has grown and grown.
“Since I visited a dog cafe in Korea, opening one of my own has been my dream. I started to plan opening my own dog cafe when I was a university student, and I spent a lot of time researching how to make my dream come true.
“There are dog cafes all over Asia but we haven’t heard of one here in Newcastle, or in many other places in the UK. “
The Dog and Scone will be open from Monday to Sunday from 10am 7pm, and for safety and insurance reasons the cafe is not suitable for children under 100cm tall.