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SCMP Reporter

In rule-bound Singapore, where there is plenty of official guidance on everything from flushing toilets to boarding trains, things are not always as they seem.

Take Urban Pooch, feted this week as the city-state's first cafe dedicated to dogs and their owners. Run by a trio of budding entrepreneurs, it serves food fit for man's best friend and those who love him.

The only problem is dogs may not be brought across the threshold of the new air-conditioned cafe, just north of the city's centre.

'No, it's not a joke. They really can't come in [to the air-conditioned section] because of rules by the Ministry of Health and Environment,' joint owner Sharon Ho says as a swarm of customers and their fluffy charges sit outside in the heat.

To drive the point home, she and her partners, Raye Tan and Tremandy Ng, have had to erect a sign reading 'No pets allowed'.

'Singapore just isn't that dog-friendly,' Ms Ho says. 'But dog owners even have problems with open-air places . . . That's why we opened this place.'

'This place' has swallowed almost S$100,000 (HK$425,000) of their savings and must pull in crowds keen to splash out on their pooches even as the country weathers its toughest recession since the 1960s.

Besides the dog-free air-conditioned restaurant, there is an outdoor porch for the adored animals, a fully equipped dog boutique and a doggy playground.

'We wanted somewhere we could go where we could enjoy the company of our human friends and our dogs,' Ms Ho says.

And then there's the owners' own dog, Sonny, sitting in the boutique sporting a fetching overcoat which looks like something straight out of operation Desert Storm.

'It's an army vest, the latest in our line of dog apparel,' Ms Ho says. So far, the tills have been ringing as people flock in, lured by the novelty value.

But are the two-legged customers tempted by the dogs' fare? 'A lot of our dog owners have sneaked a bite or two,' Ms Ho says. 'We've definitely seen evidence of that.'



Dogmatic approach bars man's best friend from first pooch cafe