You can't feed them, but you can take them home: a cafe with stray dogs has been opened in Novosibirsk
A cafe where four dogs roam has appeared in Novosibirsk — the year of the dog began with the opening of the first dog cafe in Russia.
Getting a dog is a troublesome business: walking and training take a lot of time, and a dog can also gnaw expensive shoes or change the design of an apartment to his taste. But sometimes I really want to play ball with a dog or just hug a fluffy fidget. Now Novosibirsk residents can do it anytime: the first pesokafe has opened in the quiet center, where you can not only drink tea, but also chat with animals. And maybe become the owner of a kind dog from a shelter. Let's visit the Dog House and find out how the animals will live in plain sight, where they walk and how the key "employees" of the cafe were selected.
After the New Year holidays, on January 10, the Dog House dog cafe opened in Novosibirsk. Dog lovers decided to repeat the success of the local cat cafe Murchim, which appeared in 2016. People liked tea parties with cats so much that the creators soon opened a second institution in Akademgorodok. At the same time, the townspeople began to ask the volunteers if there would be the same format, but with dogs — they had to wait almost two years.
Dog House is the first and so far the only cafe in the country where the main feature is the opportunity to chat and play with dogs from the shelter. In Moscow and St. Petersburg there are several establishments where dogs live, but they meet guests alone, without the company of relatives, and no one plans to give them into good hands.
The new institution operates in the anti—cafe format: the first hour costs two hundred rubles, then two rubles per minute. Tea and cookies are included in the ticket price, but you will have to pay extra for sweets, coffee and some types of tea. There is no kitchen in the cafe, but the authors of the project plan to supplement the menu with packed sandwiches and snacks. In addition, you can come with your own food, because the main thing here is not to eat, but to relax and help animals with a difficult fate.
The interior of the cafe is simple: instead of furniture — pallets with mattresses, on the bright walls the artist Daria Nikitenko painted frolicking dogs. This dog-sailor will obviously often flash in the photo on Instagram.
Now four dogs live in the cafe — wise Dolce, good-natured Rux, mischievous Squirrel and cheerful Nick.
It took almost half a million rubles to open the cafe. About one hundred thousand volunteers collected on a crowdfunding platform, the rest — personal investments.
Each inhabitant of the cafe has its own complicated history, but they all wandered or lived without the care of the owners. For example, Nick got here from the region. The volunteers were told that the puppy lives on a chain in the Moshkovsky district and may not survive the harsh winter. On the second day of his stay in the cafe, he had already become the soul of the company.
Ruks was literally saved from death: the dog was running through the streets, and the residents had already called the capture.
The author of the idea of the cafe said that only peaceful, good-natured dogs are taken to the institution, ready to go to a real house. Here they will be able to find owners faster than in a shelter, because outsiders rarely go there. To "work" in a cafe, animals are necessarily sterilized and given all the necessary vaccinations. But to take home the dog you like just won't work: cafe employees talk to potential owners and give them time to think.
Employees walk the dogs twice a day, morning and evening, and always clean up the street after the dogs.
Dogs sleep right in the cafe. According to Anna, in order to accustom the animals to a new home, the volunteers even stayed with them overnight.
According to the idea of the volunteers, Dog House is not just a cafe, but also a bookstore. Here you can buy classics, modern novels, dictionaries and books on raising puppies for 100-200 rubles — all this was presented to the institution by people (by the way, you can follow their example). The proceeds from the sale will be used for animal feed.
Also here you can buy themed accessories from Novosibirsk designers — brooches, badges and handbags cost from 300 to 600 rubles.
In the future, the creators of the cafe plan to turn the Dog House into a platform for various events. For example, here they want to hold a master class on making dog beds, and in the future tell novice dog breeders how to properly raise and train a puppy. In the meantime, you can color pictures and read books in the hall.
A whole set of rules of the institution is being prepared for visitors (for example, children under twelve years old will not be allowed into the cafe without their parents, and at the entrance visitors are asked to change into rubber flip-flops so as not to bring dirt).
Another important rule: guests are not allowed to feed animals — they only eat special food. But you can bring dog toys as a gift, because a cheerful company quickly chews them up.
While the institution is working in test mode, and the dogs are getting used to being the center of attention. If the guests tire them, the inhabitants of the cafe will always be able to hide in a special rest room.
Keywords: Volunteers | Cafes | Novosibirsk | Dogs