PARIS – An elegant, white-haired Parisian savours a biscuity cloud of cream and apple down to the last crumb at one of the French capital\u2019s many bakeries \u2014 but this client has four legs, not two.<\/p>\n
Loulou, a fluffy Pomeranian, lets out a satisfied \u201cwoof\u201d after polishing off a five-euro ($5.90) \u201cLe Merveilleux\u201d made from banana puree, cream cheese, apple and beef.<\/p>\n
The one-year-old pup is a regular at this dog bakery, where the treats lined up under a glass counter \u2014 like the heart-shaped \u201cLe Mignon\u201d made with sweet potato, cream cheese and blueberry \u2014 look almost good enough for humans to eat.<\/p>\n
French owner Clara Zambuto said that adopting Hulk, her three-year-old Pomeranian, inspired her to open the canine-friendly patisserie, where dogs and their humans can indulge side-by-side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d often go for walks with him \u2026 pop into a cafe like a proper Parisian, but he\u2019d soon get bored,\u201d said the 26-year-old owner of Casa del Doggo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a shame there weren\u2019t places in Paris where, while you\u2019re having a quick coffee, you can also treat your pet,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cNowadays our dog is really like our child\u2026 we want to be able to take him everywhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The bakery is one of several dog-centric establishments popping up in the French capital \u2014 home to an estimated 100,000 canines \u2014 where some say pets\u2019 needs remain overlooked.<\/p>\n
\u2018No chocolate\u2019<\/p>\n
Zambuto started preparing the treats at home herself, before enlisting the help of a trained pastry chef.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo chocolate, no avocado, no grapes and no onion,\u201d she said, as they are toxic to dogs.<\/p>\n
Like for humans, moderation also remains key to avoid excessive weight gain, said Lolita Sommaire, a veterinarian specialising in canine and feline nutrition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they\u2019ve been to a patisserie, you need to adjust their next meal, cut back a little, or get them doing more exercise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if it\u2019s once a month, it\u2019s not a big deal,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
At another dog cafe, pups roam on a bench-lined terrace, some munching on four-euro croissant- and baguette-shaped treats.<\/p>\n
Marley, a beret-wearing American shepherd, laps up the remnants of a chantilly-based \u201cpup cup\u201d from the pavement.<\/p>\n
For Rebecca Anhalt, the decision to open her \u201cdog-first\u201d cafe came after being hit with a hefty fine for letting Napoleon, her five-year-old whippet, off-leash in a park.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to create a place where people could come and not fear\u2026 being scolded for having your dog,\u201d said the US-born owner of Le Bone Appart, a play on French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte\u2019s last name.<\/p>\n
\u2018Really good connector\u2019<\/p>\n
While Paris has more than 40 off-leash spaces for dogs, one advocacy group, Paris Condition Canine, argues that those on offer are \u201cinsufficient, unevenly distributed, and sometimes ill-suited\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dogs even emerged as a niche issue ahead of March\u2019s mayoral race, with new Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire dedicating an Instagram account to photos with canine companions, while rival Rachida Dati organised a dog-centric \u201capero\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Loulou the Pomeranian\u2019s owner and self-described \u201cmother\u201d, Sarah Elgamal, trips to the Casa del Doggo bakery offer more than just treats but an opportunity to bond with her pooch.<\/p>\n
It \u201cimproves our connection, because we\u2019re both in a third place that\u2019s neither work nor home\u201d, said the 32-year-old pharmacist.<\/p>\n
And though dogs come first at her cafe, Anhalt said many visitors also come for the chance to socialise with fellow pet owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cDogs are a really good connector,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
One regular and his 17-year-old dachshund, newly arrived in Paris, now come every day to \u201cbe part of the group and meet people\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n
After all, \u201cyou\u2019ll talk to anybody about your dog.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS – An elegant, white-haired Parisian savours a biscuity cloud of cream and apple down to the last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11415,11416,11418,11413,11417,30,11412,11419,11414],"class_list":{"0":"post-14825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-paris","8":"tag-canine-nutrition","9":"tag-casa-del-doggo","10":"tag-dog-bakery","11":"tag-dog-friendly-paris","12":"tag-le-bone-appart","13":"tag-paris","14":"tag-paris-dog-cafes","15":"tag-paris-pet-culture","16":"tag-pet-friendly-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}