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T
he Dogi and Caty Café is locat-
ed at 72B Le Van Sy street, Phu
Nhuan district, and is home to
12 dogs and nine cats. Cus-
tomers can feed and play with the cats
on the second floor, or with dogs on
the third.
Yu Min Kang, the shop’s owner, is
a Korean who works as an architect in
Vietnam. His love of pets led him to
open his coffee shop for like-minded
people. “I love dogs and I have raised
a lot of dogs in my house,” he says. “I
decided that they need more space to
play, so I opened Dogi café. Now I can
share my hobby.”
Vu Thi Anh Thi, manager of the
shop, says: “Yu Min has loved dogs and
cats since he was a kid. When he came
to Vietnam, he brought the modern
idea of coffee shops for pet lovers with
him.” The cafes are already a hit in his
home country.
Since it was opened in June last
year, the Dogi and Caty Café has at-
tracted many young people who love
pets. Many would love to have one
of their own but cannot. Nguyen Anh
Phuong, an 18 year old student says: “I
have always wanted to have a dog, but
my mum can’t stand them, so I was very
happy to find this café.”
Each dog and cat has its own pro-
file hanging on the shop’s wall so visi-
tors know their names. Most of the
dogs in Dogi café are imported from
Korea. Varieties include the Yorkshire
terrier, Siberian husky, golden retriev-
er, old English sheep dog and minia-
ture schnauzer.
Pham Van Luan, a regular visitors,
says the dog profiles help her feel closer
to the pets as they describe what they
love or hate: “They are treated as close
friends, not just as animals.”
All the pets are vaccinated, so vis-
itors can be assured of their health
when petting them. Besides taking pic-
tures, feeding and playing with dogs
and cats in the coffee shop, visitors can
bring along their own pets.
Anh Thi, manager of the coffee
shop, says they have a wide variety
of customers, from students to office
workers and even retirees. “Alongside
the dog and cat areas, we have Yuri
House, a Korean restaurant on the
ground floor, so our customers have
three choices when they visit,” Thi says.
It is important to note that visitors
should only feed the pets with food pro-
vided by the shop. “We want to protect
our pets so their food is chosen careful-
ly,” says Thi. “We also ask our customers
not to wake up the pets or to bother
them when they are not ready to play.”
While pet coffee shops are wide-
spread Korea and Japan, this is a fresh
concept in Vietnam. Yu Min hopes the
trend here will catch on and that the
Dogi Café and Caty Café will become a
destination for people who love dogs
and cats to share their experience and
the love for animals.
20
timeout
Coffee time for pet lovers
With the rising popularity
of pet ownership in Viet-
nam, Ho Chi Minh City’s
Dogi and Caty Café is get-
ting busier by the month,
writes
Bui Hoa
HOBBY