City Dogs - King's Park Botanic Cafe again!!

Barbie still has a sore foot. It has been going on for some time, she had an abscess, which the vet cut open and cleaned out, but the silly wench put another hole in her foot in a brief licking session. They put another bandage on her foot, and she has to endure at least another 3 days of not getting it wet.

It's winter so that means no real walks. We had to take her out though, so we decided a cafe visit would work.

We did go for a little walk on the pavement, then N took Barbie to the cafe, whilst Bender and I visited the bin to dispose of some poop bags.

N has just bought a real camera so it was a good opportunity for her to try it out. She has a lot to learn, but it takes some pretty good shots on 'auto' mode!

Not sure what Bender was thinking here, though perhaps he was just trying to look cute. He was a very good boy, lying down straight away. It would be handy if we could convince him to lie down underneath the tables though.

It was a bit colder than we expected - for some reason I thought the sun would be shining in the middle of the afternoon. Silly me. Barbie was a little bit cold, but soon all was forgiven.

Barbie: OMGERD! Look at all that food.... burger, and chips and.....MEATBALLS! How much is for me? I need food to keep warm!

I think chips are Barbie's favorite cafe fare - of course she is only allowed to eat a few, to make sure she keeps that streamlined figure of hers. There is nothing worse than a fat greyhound.

Bender stuck close to me as well. I guess he thought he was being helpful when I dropped something on my lap. He quickly cleaned my lap for me, but he left a big puddle of drool behind. Thanks Bender. 

Of course, they got some meatball too - Bender particularly enjoyed the meatballs, he is not quite as obsessed with chips as Barbie is.

So... what do you think of the new camera? Hopefully the quality of the photos on this blog will be onwards and upwards from here! Of course, I'm the writer so if you see any really good photos, I probably didn't take them! 

Wordless Wednesday - The Leash Dance (King's Park)

Dog Friendly Cafe Review: Botanic Gardens Cafe - Kings Park, Perth

I have to thank Honey and Hsin-Yi for finding this cafe for us. They wrote a blog entry about it well before we got around to visiting. I have been living in Perth for years and they only just moved here, and yet they are finding all these great dog friendly places for us to try.

The Botanic Gardens cafe is located near Fraser's Restaurant on Fraser Avenue. We drove up there at 8.30am and there was plenty of parking, but by the time we left the car park was getting rather full. Before we sat down to breakfast, we took the dogs for a walk around and enjoyed the lovely panoramic views of the Swan River. Bender and Barbie were both very happy to be somewhere new and they got a lot of attention. A group of tourists took photos of them.

As there is a lot of space between the tables there, both Bender and Barbie got to come and try this place out. As it had been raining the night before I bought Barbie a foam camping mat to lie on.

The staff were very dog friendly, and most of the other patrons were too. A lady came over specifically to pat Barbie. She was from Melbourne and missing her Whippets at home. She commented about Barbie's small size and said she looked like a Whippet. She enjoyed the attention, though Bender felt that he should be patted and commenced bouncing and squeaking to get her attention.

We decided that whenever people ask how old Bender is they are expecting us to say he is a puppy, so we will tell them that he is two! 

Barbie didn't really lie down on her camping mat much as she was busy investigating her surroundings, and I think she was a bit cold.

Bender was happy to lie down on the pavers, and they are the nice smooth kind, not rocky or pointy. They will be nice and cool on a summer's day in the shade. 

From a human perspective the only drawback of this cafe is that you have to order at the counter, so you need to have someone to baby sit the dogs while you go and do that. It is a very minor quibble though, as at most cafes you still have to go inside and pay at the end of your meal. I just think the idea would be to sit down, get served and pay the waitstaff from your table. When I find a place that does that I can take Barbie out to a cafe on my own. 

The food was very good, the service was quick and the seating area was comfortable, with a great view.

Parking the car might be an issue, as it sometimes is at King's Park later on in the day on a weekend, but all was quiet at 8.30am when we arrived. 

Human score: 9/10

Barbie tells me that from a dog perspective, it's definitely the kind of cafe where you will get attention from other customers, it's probably not the cafe for a dog not so outgoing around people. 

There is a lot of space around the tables and the staff and other customers are friendly. There would be a nice sea breeze blowing through here in summer, though Barbie told me it was a bit cold on a winter morning. She was happy I bought her a mat to lie on but this time she was asking for a coat as well. You can never please some doggies. 

Bender is not fussy and did not really have any criticisms of the cafe. He just wanted more people to talk to him instead of just wanting to talk to Barbie. He still doesn't understand that if he bounces and squeaks a lot of people get a bit intimidated!

Dog score: 9/10