To say Korea has a lot of cafes is an understatement. There are cafes and coffee shops everywhere, and I don't know how any of them make any money with all the competition in such close proximity. However, there are some cafes that take a very different approach to draw in customers. The cafes I'm talking about are pet cafes. The most popular ones are dog cafes and cat cafes. These cafes are just like regular coffee shops but there are animals to greet you and keep you company while you relax and enjoy your hot beverage. The cafes I have seen have animal toys and beds laying around so that the animals can take a break from all their visitors. From what I've heard, the animals are owned and cared for by the cafes in which they belong. These pet cafes are all over Korea and Japan. There is a dog cafe and a cat cafe in the city where I live. I have yet to experience the cat cafe, but I have been to the dog cafe, Story Dog. When I went, there were about 7 small dogs there of all different breeds. All of them were friendly, except a loud, obnoxious pomeranian. The pet cafes are great for people like me, who are really missing their pets from back home (I miss you Abbey, Velma and Daphne!!!) It's nice to cuddle up with some furry friends while sipping some hot tea. I really think the U.S. should start the pet cafe trend, as there are so many animals that need adopting!
The dog cafe in my city
Inside of the cafe; it was really clean!
This past weekend I discovered a new kind of pet cafe: a sheep cafe! Well actually my friend in Seoul discovered it, but we checked it out together. The cafe had 2 sheep; and they were in a pin right outside the cafe. The cafe serves as their home during the winter months, and during the summer they go back to their farm. Their owner, also the owner of the cafe, told us their names were Happy and Merry, which stand for "Happy New Year" and "Merry Christmas". Lucky for us, they were quite photogenic!
Happy and Merry
Another popular trend here is dying your pet's hair. I have seen so many animals here with pink rosy cheeks or bright green ears. For some reason, pet owners here love to add a pop of color to their pets' manes. As I like to say, "only in Korea"...
See what I mean about the dyed animals??
