Resident pooches save Osaka canine cafe from going to the dogs

[Anchorman]

A novel Osaka cafe has got dog lovers howling with delight by providing them with a chance to get cozy with canines, according to Sunday Mainichi (7/22).

Bow Wow, located in the city's Minami entertainment district, started out somewhat unsuccessfully as a cafe where owners were free to bring their pooches with them when they went out for a cuppa.

But after bringing in dozens of dogs of their own, including miniature dachshunds, toy poodles and Chihuahuas, Bow Wow started to do a roaring trade.

Customers entering the second floor cafe remove their shoes, put their feet into a pair of slippers, then walk into the spacious coffee bar, where the resident hounds are free to roam around. Customers can pat or cuddle the dogs, plonk them in their laps and otherwise play with them for hours on end.

Yuji Tsunoda, the president of a company that creates leisure facilities for dog lovers, said that despite being the first dog-friendly cafe in the Minami area, Bow Wow was lucky to get anyone bringing a pet, and only averaged only one dog and owner a day. But business boomed after Tsunoda started carting in the canines himself, and the cafe is now virtually impossible to get into on weekends or national holidays.

Sunday Mainichi notes that entrance to Bow Wow costs 525 yen for adults and 315 yen for children; those who cough up the princely sum of 1,050 yen are entitled to take a dog out for a walk.

"News about Bow Wow spread through word of mouth. I was surprised to see how many people really love dogs but can't get one of their own because their apartment block regulations forbid pets," Tsunoda tells Sunday Mainichi. "On weekdays we get a lot of couples, while on weekends it's usually families. I guess the parents like it here because they want to buy their kids a dog but can't, so they do the next best thing available to them and that's letting their children play with the pets in the cafe."

Sunday Mainichi adds that the dogs in Bow Wow are all for sale and customers can buy any pooch they take a particular shine to. Tsunoda notes that some customers have been so smitten by a dog, they've moved to somewhere that permits pets and then purchased the pooch. (By Ryann Connell)