Egypt’s first dog cafe opens

Ola Loutfi has two dogs and could not find any places to go to with her four-legged friends and meet other dog owners. So she opened the Dog Cafe in 6 October City in Giza governorate in May.

Inspired by her son's company that sells nutritious cooked meals for dogs and cats, she came up with the idea to establish the first cafe for dogs in Egypt.

“I always dreamt to have my own coffee shop to serve guests good quality coffee and snacks in a comfortable and friendly environment accompanied by their pets,” Loutfi told Al-Monitor. “My dream has come true.”

At the cafe, dogs can enjoy a special menu that includes a main course, snacks and balanced foods together with their owners who can order a cup of coffee, fresh juices and sandwiches or salads.

Before she opened the Dog Cafe, Loutfi faced many obstacles, one of which was funding. “I was not able to fund this project alone,” said Loutfi, who worked at several international companies. “I shared the idea with my friend Hossam Hassan who was thrilled and immediately became my partner.”

Selecting a place for the cafe was another obstacle she faced.

“When a district learned that the cafe would be for dogs they refused flat out,” she recalled. “I felt frustrated and got tired and bored."

One day, she proposed the idea to owners of Eden Plaza in the upscale district of al-Sheikh Zayed on the outskirts of Giza governorate.

“They liked the idea a lot and encouraged me,” she said. “They recommended that I rent a shop near the plaza’s entrance and the garage so that the dog owners could park and bring their dogs straight to the cafe.”

In May, she opened the Dog Cafe, which has an indoor space of 200 square meters (2,150 square feet) and 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) outside.

When designing the cafe, Loutfi used decorations that would be comforting for the dogs and their owners.

“The design of the floor is like that of hospitals — it is made of nonporous ceramics to ensure that if a dog has ticks  the eggs can't get stuck in between the tiles and harm other dogs,” Loutfi said, noting that there are also large spaces between the dog hooks.

“When we opened the cafe and welcomed dogs and their owners in the first two weeks it was a nightmare as they barked at each other. But after a while our clients told us that when they are about to enter the cafe, their dogs start getting excited,” she noted.

In addition to food and drinks for dogs and their owners, the Dog Cafe sells pet accessories, shampoos, toys and tools for dog safety.

Loutfi carefully selected the cafe’s staff. At first, some refused the idea once they learnt that they would be waiting on dogs and presenting trays of food to them. However, some families now encourage their daughters to work at the Dog Cafe believing “it is a safe place for them.”

Loutfi also organizes free sessions by experts who know about dog (health) care.

Paintings found in the tombs of ancient Egyptians show that dogs were used for hunting and as companions. For instance, a tomb dating to 3500 B.C. depicts a man walking his dog on a leash, while paintings in other tombs show herding dogs.

In modern Egypt, many locals consider stray dogs as unclean and impure creatures, nullifying religious practices in Muslim households with dogs.

In 2020, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawky Allam refuted this negative image and said dogs are pure and can live in a household without invalidating religious practices.

Loutfi said that whenever she appeared on a media platform with her unprecedented idea of the Dog Cafe, she received mixed reactions.

“Many describe my project as trivial and advise me to focus on orphans or cancer patients. I told them that I am not a charity or governmental body. The project is my business and I have staff and that is their livelihood,” she explained. 

Inside the cafe, there is a donation box for Talya's Rescue Furbabies, a nonprofit animal rescue organization based in Cairo that provides urgent life-saving medical care for injured dogs along with vaccination, sterilization, rehabilitation and rehousing.

“Every day I take the remaining food and sandwiches and give them to the dogs and cats in the streets,” Loutfi said.

She concluded, “I started the wave of creating a haven for dogs and making them bond together and with people. I hope many people will follow."