Bowled over as pub grub on offer for dogs
Bar puts meaty fare on the menu for rising number of canine visitors
A dog’s life is a happy one in a Scottish pub which has responded to the rise in the number of customers bringing their four-legged companions to the bar by creating a dog-friendly menu.
The Lorne bar in Oban is offering a “Fir yer Dug” menu so that canines can tuck in to their own favourites, while their owners enjoy a bite to eat.
Favourite dish of the day for doggie visitors is three butchers sausages for £2, with a bowl of Bakers Meaty Meats another popular choice.
And to wash it down there is a non-alcoholic Snuffles doggie beer, which costs £2.99 a bottle.
Water and small treats are still available on the house.
Pub owner and landlord de clan Curran said :“There area lot of people coming here on holiday with their dogs now so I thought it was a really good idea.
“It was my bar manager Debbie Sheppard who came up with the menu after she had been down in London where there are a lot of dog-friendly cafés.
“People just love the concept of it, they think that making a fuss of the dogs is good.”
The pub’s local customers love the idea as much as the holidaymakers.
Dianne Clarke, 33, from Oban, takes her three-yearold Boxer dog, Sid, to the Lorne regularly and says it’s nice for both of them to be able to enjoy a meal out together.
Ms Clarke said: “He will have the sausages and a bowl of dog beer. When you want to go out for something to eat it’s great to be able to take him too.
“A lot of people are raving about it because it’s one thing being able to take your dog somewhere, but to actually be able to offer them food as well, it just makes it better. It’s simple food and the dogs love it.”
She added: “I have met people before who have had to leave their dogs in the car to go into places which, if it is hot, isn’t good.”
The Lorne’s dog menu has been up and running for a month.
Mr Curran said: “We have had quite a few dogs in now.
“We had one couple in and they ordered two beers and sausages for their two dogs but the dogs wouldn’t eat the sausages – but they were just waiting for their owners to click their fingers, then they ate them.”
Meals out for pets could well be an up and coming growth industry. A growing number of pubs provide bowls of water for thirsty dogs.
More hotels and restaurants are advertising their willingness to accept dogs for owners who don’t like to be parted from their pets.
The RSPCA estimated that the UK’S pet population in 2015 included about 8.5 milh lion dogs and 7.4 million cats, while the Pet Food Manufacturers Association estimated that about one in two UK ouseholds own a pet.
A spokesperson for Dugs n’ Pubs said: “We thi nk it’s great when menus are offered for the dugs too.
“A happy dug means a happy owner, and a happy owner will stay in the pub! Great work by the Lorne Bar, Oban.”