There are about a couple dozen cat cafesย around the country now, so it may be a surprise there haven’t been anyย for manโs best friendโuntil now. Andย The Dog Cafe in Los Angeles, which opened in April, is filling the void with more than just coffee and puppy snuggles.
While coffee is always a draw, the mission of The Dog Cafe is more about providing a home for the animals. All the dogs come from shelters, and the goal is to find them a home or otherwise be the permanent hospice for older canines. Dog Cafe ownerย Sarah Wolfgang, after adopting dogs herself, felt aย need to bring awareness to forgotten shelter dogs. Sheย believes the opening of the cafe โis a movement to revolutionize the way people view rescue dogs and dog adoption in general. Often, dogs at shelters tend to be scared, or in ‘shelter shock,’ and we wanted to be able to show people that, put into the right environment where they could show their true personalities, even dogs thought to be unadoptable can be amazing family pets.โ
Wolfgangย chose a siteย just a stoneโs throw from the heart of hip Silver Lakeย โafter frequent trips to the Silver Lake Dog Park with my dog, Sharkie”โthe cafe’s mascot.
Theย cafe is divided intoย two sections for health-code reasons: one is the dogs’ play zone while the other has the cafe, where you can check in (entrance fee is $10 per person for an hour, and reservations are recommended), shop for merch, and order your drinks. Choices includeย yourย classic espresso drinks andย pour-over, along with flavored lemonades and a variety of teas from Teatulia. The two roasters supplying beans may not come as a surprise:ย Dogs Drink Coffee and Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co.ย Both donate a portion of their proceeds to dog rescues.
Here though, the coffee takes a back seatโthe real fun is on the other side of the wall. โAfter months of going back and forth with the health department,” Wolfgang says, “we settled on keeping the two locationsโcoffee shop and dog loungeโcompletely separate, but adjacent. This allows us to make and serve beverages in an animal-free space, which customers can then take next door toย hang out with the dogs.โ Thereโs plenty of seating aroundย the stone floor where the dogs roam, or you can sit right on the floor (the staff managesย to keep the place spotless and non-stinky). Tables containย info on the dogs available for adoption, with about 15ย or so dogs ready for cuddles at any given time. Since some dogs may be exhausted after their human interaction, they areย rotated through the space in groups, with someย resting behind closed doors.
On my visit, The Dog Cafe was fully bookedโ19 people are allowed in for each hour-long slotโand everyone seemed to be enjoying their time interacting with the pups. Visitors are encouragedย to pet and pick up the dogsโlike most rescues, they range from shy to full-on affectionateโand really get a feel for each animal; basically,ย The Dog Cafe is a great place to visit if youโre thinking about getting a dog.
The cafe’s walls haveย photos of the adoptable dogs, plus information on dog breeds (a good thing for potential adopters to research, as different breeds suit different lifestyles). “From the group of dogs we originally started with, most have been adopted to great homes by people who came by as customers, which is fantastic considering these dogs were viewed as unadoptable at their shelters.โย Here at The Dog Cafe,ย things just seem a little brighter for everyone.
Tatiana Ernstย (@TatianaErnst) is a Sprudge staff writer based in Los Angeles. Read more Tatiana Ernst onย Sprudge.
