"Canine Café" Opens in Tarsus, Humans Not Welcome

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 6 February 2021)

                   "Waiter! Where's my birthday cake!?"

Rasim Tekin is Turkey's youngest owner of a dog-training center and

because of the pandemic all the cafés in the country are closed, so 

Tekin has opened a café exclusively for dogs. (!)

Eight years ago, Tekin opened a training center/hotel for dogs in Tarsus

district of Mersin province on a 4-acre plot of land.  Now, Tekin has 

added a "Canine Café" to his facility and he explained that "This is a 

dream I've had for years and in January it came true.  I know that there 

are cafés that dog-owners can go to with their pets but this café is just 

for dogs.  It's preparation for both the owners and the dogs for the post-

pandemic world when normal cafés open again.  This way, the dogs

will already be acclimated to the café environment."

At the "Canine Café" there are special foods and drinks for the dogs

and even birthday parties, costing from 300 to 3,000 TL (about $40-

$400).  Tekin said that "We've consulted with veterinarians from 

Ankara University to determine the right foods - cakes, salads, etc. -

and all are made of wheat flour, because white flour is dangerous for

animals.   We don't use any cooking oil, but eggs are very nutritious

for dogs.  Vegetable and fruit-wise, we prefer broccoli, bananas, apples, 

honey melon and carrots."

"We can make a birthday cake from meat, with peanut butter in it,

and the dogs eat them with glee.  Also, we make tuna fish, chicken

and broccoli cakes for them, with the dog's picture on top." There

has been high interest in the "Canine Café" in just a month since it

opened and reservations for the coming month are full.