A Lake District cafe is proving such a hit with dogs that they now regularly “lead” their owners to it for a bite to eat.
Cafe Hope, in Hope Park, Keswick, features a dogs menu and let’s make no bones about it – it’s become very fetching.
Dogs can wolf down delicious scrambled eggs, grilled pork sausages; flavoursome chicken, rice and gravy, and even a non-alcoholic dog beer, which has certainly set tails wagging.
With dedicated water stations in place, ice cream and gardens to sniff round, the Lake Road business has surely got the dog market licked.
Popular with visiting tourists who bring their hounds on their holidays, it also has a very strong pull locally for Keswick-based dog owners wanting to wish their pets bone appétit.
Cafe manager Viki Mallaghan oversees a staff of 15 at this time of the season – a little different to high summer when they are wuffed off their feet.
Viki said: “When we first opened we realised everyone seems to bring their dogs to Keswick so thought it would be nice to introduce a dogs menu.
“We now get customers who come every year during their holidays and then we have others locally who come every day – their dogs literally pull them here!”
It has proved so popular that one might even say that at busy times they barely have time to paws.
To market the business, cute-looking canines even get their photos and videos posted on the cafe’s social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.
It certainly has helped them Winalot of followers. To cement their place as dogtastic, the business has just learned that it has been named as a finalist in the Dog Friendly Awards in the cafe category which sees them competing against two others to be named best in the UK. The team finds out in December whether or not it has won the grand prize, having made the finals last year
We say any other result apart from first place will surely be a case of wuff justice.
The awards ceremony will be held at none other than the headquarters of the Kennel Club in London. Whatever the result, we’re sure they’ll have a ball and may even have to shake a leg for the pup-arazzi…
