Perm: 'No Entrance with Dogs' is a common sight that one comes across while stepping into many Russian shops and restaurants, but not at 'Stardogs Cafe'.
The city of Perm's first-ever canine coffee shop opened a year ago and has fast become the place for dogs and dog owners to meet and mingle and for dog lovers to come and indulge in some canine cuddles.
There's coffee and doughnuts for two-legged visitors and home-made, bone-shaped beef liver, carrot and zucchini biscuits for the four-legged guests to get their teeth into.
The cafe is owned and run by lifelong dog lover Alyona Churina.
"Dogs have been in my life since very long ago. In my childhood I was always with the dogs too, and about four years ago I happened to go to the municipal dog shelter and realized that dogs need our help very much, and if we don't help them, nobody will, so I became a volunteer, I helped to feed and walk dogs, help was needed there all the time," she says.
And it's not just the clients that are dogs. On 'treats for cuddles' duty today are poodles, Lucien, and Cleopatra who belong to Churina and a husky called Raf who belongs to the barista.
"Dogs come to work with us. They have the same working day from morning till night, they are here with us in the coffee shop. I have four dogs now, and they get tired too, they have some days off, so they take turns. Usually, two go to work and the following day is the turn of the other two," says Churina.
The job requires a sunny personality, attention to detail and a willingness to be endlessly stroked, fed treats and photographed.
The working dogs are expected to greet guests as they enter, wag their tails, notice where the guest sits down and if invited, approach the table. The rest comes naturally.
For the humans on the staff, being a dog owner and being willing to bring it into work are mandatory requirements.
Dogs of all breeds, sizes, and tempers meet in the coffee house.
Communication between the animals sometimes leads to skirmishes, but this doesn't discourage the dog owners.
The staff at the coffee shop actively help abandoned dogs. There's a collection jar and shop selling products made by the Kind Heart Dog Shelter in Perm. They include ceramic cups and mugs, dog-shaped soap and pet toys. Some items on sale have been donated by visitors. All proceeds from the sale of goods goes back to the Kind Heart Shelter.
People have something to learn from dogs, a dog will never do bad, never cheat or betray which cannot be said about people, unfortunately.
As winter draws in the cafe is becoming ever more popular as a place for dogs and owners to warm up and socialize.
