We are the Furballs (WTF)

Last Saturday we brought Zeus and Honey to a new dog cafe known as WTF, or We are the Furballs. Misleading name aye?

It's a Taiwanese style pet cafe whereby you pay to enter an upper storey which houses 5 to 6 small dogs. If you are bringing your pets, please note that only small dogs are allowed. We had a hard time trying to get Zeus in because he's medium-sized.

For $6.50 (weekdays)/ $7.50 weekends per person, you'll also get a free basic bubble tea (worth $2.50) of your choice. You'll need to top up if you want a more elaborate flavour. No food is allowed.

However, if you want food, you are free to dine downstairs, where a very sparse offering of only 3 items - spicy popcorn chicken, fries and tea egg are offered. The cafe has a collaboration with the Loft, two doors away, where you can order their western food and have them served at WTF.

We had a whole family with us - 6 of us - checking out this place on a weekend. So it's about $45 for all of us just to go upstairs with one measly drink.

We were quite excited to see the doggies as we heard they are quite friendly and put together for their distinct personalities. We were surprised how small and tiny they were though. Especially the small white thing called Mochi. Even Honey was bigger than all of them.

However the place wasn't very comfortable, as it was furnished with small wooden chairs, which do not encourage lounging. After a while, Honey lost interest in the dogs and settled herself on the chair with the rest of us. Zeus sniffed around the other doggies a bit. But it was obvious that they have settled into comfortable clique. Duchess the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was pretty anti-social. There was a Pekinese (?) called Yuki-chan who was quite  sweet thing but her leg was bandaged up because a boisterous Caucasian boy, who was a customer, dropped her. Idiot. I don't even know if his parents offered to pay for the Pekinese's medical bills. Dogs are not playthings to be thrown and dropped. 

 There two two naughty dogs, the poodle, and this little Boston terrier called Bui Bui ("chubby-chubby" in Hokkien). Bui Bui was quite a terror, he took to fancy to Zeus and kept bugging Zeus to play with him. However, Zeus wasn't interested in Bui Bui. So Bui Bui and the Daschund (called Slinky) went to play with mummy's shoelaces instead, chewing and unraveling them whenever they can. Mummy had to tie her shoelaces several times. But she didn't mind a bit.

 The other thing about all these dogs is that they are all female, and about 8 months of age. When asked why, the owner explained that female dogs do not mark the walls and it's thus easier to clean up. Did we mention that the dogs pee and poop in the poop whenever they want? Of course, it's always mopped up..but because Zeus and Honey are toilet trained..we feel that it might be a more hygienic option to toilet train the resident dogs as well.

The verdict? It's a nice place for kids and teenagers to come and play with the cute dogs, especially if their parents do not allow pets at home. However it's quite an uncomfortable place that does not invite you to stay for long. Because it's air-conditioned, and enclosed, and the dogs do their business in the same room, well we would prefer that the windows are opened. Also there's a policy of no-feeding of the resident dogs, which is quite a pity because they begged for treats when we were feeding Zeus and Honey.

Not being able to eat there is also a dampener. Costing $7.50 just for a drink and some time to play with the dogs, well it's a novelty that might wear off after a while. We prefer to go to K9 Kulture, where the ambiance is cosier, and the food and drinks are good. Even though the Philippino staff there can be quite brusque, at least it's a much nicer place to chill out, with more outdoor and indoor running space for the dogs.

WTF is at 45 East Coast Road.