I can have coffee and puppy kisses in one place? Please, take all my money!

When I think of dogs in the Big Apple, I envision dog walkers being dragged through the streets by a pack of mutts – and boy, do I not envy that job! But for many, owning a dog in New York City isn’t feasible. The cost of living is astronomically high and good luck finding an apartment with a yard. It’s a good thing that Maggie Chan and Mandy Chow have come up with a way to share the love of puppy slobber and belly rubs with dog-loving New Yorkers who can’t have a fur friend.

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Kitty cafés are so last week… because the dogs are coming to town (or should I say, the city). This Indiegogo campaign hopes to fund the first-ever Dog Café in Manhattan. The concept is quite simple: come, eat, drink and wag. The café will serve small meals and coffee, and have a large play area for the dogs to roam around in. Customers who have their own dogs will be encouraged to bring them and there will be pooches to play with on loan from local shelters.

Not only do humans get the stress-relieving benefit of playing with dogs, but the café will help the pups as well. All of the shelter dogs at the café will be up for adoption and looking for their forever homes. Hey, we’ve all seen the romantic comedy where the boy and girl fall in love at the café… why can’t it be the girl and the dog?

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It was a trip to Puerto Rico that inspired the idea of the dog café. Chen and Chow spent much of their time feeding the stray dogs that roamed around the island. This prompted them to think of a way they could help save homeless pets and make people happy. Thus, the Dog Café idea began to take shape.

The Indiegogo campaign has a goal set for $70,000 to fund the start-up of the café. Manhattan will hopefully be the first site for a Dog Café. When they get through all the red tape and finally open, I hope they write a handbook on how to open one, because I would love to bring one to my neck of the woods! Who needs happy hour when you could have puppy hour?

For more information and to sponsor this project, visit the Dog Café Indiegogo page.