The dogfriendly café!
‘A puppuccino please!’ From pupcakes to pawsecco, it’s the four-legged customers who are top dogs at this café in Southport
It’s hound heaven for canine customers at a new café where dogs are treated as well as humans. Comfy armchairs and beds reserved for pooches are the order of the day, alongside treats such as pawsecco, pupcakes and puppuccinos. But for one obedient canine, rescue Labradorcross Rocket, at first it was all a bit confusing... His owner, Yours photographer Patrick Boyd, decided to take his faithful friend with him to work as a treat as soon as he heard he was going to The Wagging Tail café. But as soon as Rocket’s paws crossed the threshold of the café, opened by Damien and Elizabeth Kerr in Churchtown, near Southport, he turned suddenly shy. “At home he’s not allowed to jump on the furniture or go upstairs, so I think it was a bit of a culture shock for him!” explained Patrick. Happily, ten-year-old Rocket soon got used to the café ‘where dogs take their servants’ and put his paws up in a comfy armchair. “He soon came round and settled in!” added Patrick. That he soon felt at home is hardly surprising. Nothing but the best is good enough for dogs at this establishment, which serves a host of luxury dog food and drink products as well as gifts such as quirky collars and leads. If it’s your dog’s birthday, you can even host a ‘barkday pawty’ there, complete with ice-cream, popcorn and a personalised cake. All edible products use human grade food that’s gluten free. Cakes have been independently tested in government- approved laboratories, as required by the Animal and Plant Health Agency. And of course the pawsecco and dog beer are alcohol free! But there’s a menu for owners, too, with human treats from bacon butties and lasagne to afternoon
tea with home-made cakes. And as for cleanliness, the local council has awarded the café a five-star hygiene rating. The idea for the café sprung from 41-year-old Elizabeth’s first-hand experience with Josh, her assistance dog, after becoming chronically ill. Without realising it at first, the former lecturer had contracted Lyme disease during a family holiday to South Africa as a teenager. Gradually her health deteriorated, but it wasn’t until she was in her early 30s that she was diagnosed with the disease, which is spread by bites from infected ticks. Devastated by the effects of the painful condition, which caused her to suffer extreme fatigue and muscle weakness, she was forced to retire. “I became very, very ill,” she recalls. During her worst period, she spent two years only able to lie on the floor of a dark room with no light and no noise. Thanks to Josh the springer spaniel, Elizabeth just about coped. “I couldn’t have managed without him. He’d fetch my phone or a blanket or whatever I needed and empty and fill the washer,” she recalls. Recovering slowly – though still not fully – after finding a private doctor specialising in her condition, she met Damien, an accountant, on a dating website in 2010. Once he got over the shock of realising Josh slept inside Elizabeth’s house, the pair hit it off. “Damien comes from farming stock in Ireland, where dogs sleep outside,” she explains. Curtly informing him that he’d be sleeping in a wooden hut in her garden before Josh would, he accepted the score and they married two years later! With Damien working long hours on top of lengthy commutes, Elizabeth realised that local dog-friendly cafes were few and far between and so an idea was formed… “I just thought it would be good to take your dog – especially if it’s a nervous dog – to a place where you could both relax and not feel like they had to lie down and be quiet in the corner.” Damien agreed to a change of lifestyle and they began looking for suitable premises. When the lease came up on a café, they applied for it and got it. After roping in friends and family to help them decorate, The Wagging Tail – named as a tribute to Josh who has since died – was opened in August 2016. Today, although she’s still registered disabled, Elizabeth deals with the creative and marketing side of the business mainly from home. Damien, along with five part-time staff, runs the café and handles the accounts. So far, they’ve never looked back – and neither have the regulars who bring their dogs. Retired teacher Ruth Cleworth has been taking her two Tibetan terriers, Sasha and Poppy, to the café almost since it opened and says, “It’s a real asset to the community. The dogs love the peanut and banana bones and I can have a cup of coffee.” Retired support worker Wendy Steele and her Yorkshire terrier, Susie, were there with friend Debbie Whittingham who was trying to socialise her miniature Dachshund, Nelly. Wendy adds, “It seems to be working because Susie had a biscuit bone but she didn’t really like it so Nelly ate it all!” Holidaymakers Sarah Longworth and Patrick Wragg from Leeds found the café online while looking for dog-friendly places to take their 14-week-old Dachshund-cross, Noddy, who quickly became best friends with Rocket – irrespective of their size difference. Sarah says: “We absolutely love it here. It’s just become my favourite café!” Elizabeth says they haven’t experienced any problems between dogs, adding, “A lot of people come in with nervous dogs and they don’t know how they’ll react. But they can’t believe it when they settle down so quickly. Because the owners are relaxed, the dogs become relaxed and it has a knockon effect.”
‘Because the owners are relaxed, the dogs become relaxed and it has a knock-on effect’