Paoli – Dog park and Pet boutique

Have you ever felt like a bad parent when you want to enjoy a day out with the family, and you know your k9 child is not welcome anywhere? You look back through your rear-view mirror at a sad little face and when you return after a few hours you get the wagging tail; happy jumps and you think…. “so nice of you ‘Fido’ but I only went to the supermarket”. 

If we take into consideration the widely shared perception of dog lovers that one human year equals seven dog years, that would mean that if you leave your house at 8am in the morning and return at 8pm in the evening, you left your child at home for 4 days.

 Would you ever do that to your human child? Probably not, and if you did, your child would be placed in foster care. So, if a dog is our best and most trusted buddy, why is the world so unfriendly towards dogs? Most business and shopping mall owners shy away from this question. They just do not want to take on the extra responsibility that goes along with a pet friendly environment.

We visited the new Dog Park and Pet boutique Paoli opposite Jasmyn next to Landsmeer Estate in Hartbeespoort. The owner Ana Roodt gave us some insight to how the idea of a doggy restaurant came about.

Who gave birth to the idea?

The main restaurant, Kremetart Bistro is a family owned business. We all agreed that it should be dog friendly. From there we decided to add the off-leash dog park and open my pet boutique. It was a group effort.

How did you go about to do market research?

Volunteering at the local shelter, Wollies Animal Project, taught me so much. I learned a lot from the woman who started the project and still runs it up until today. Wollies ignited the passion I have for animals, and in particular shelter animals. I went on to complete my diploma to become a qualified dog behaviorist. Together with my qualification and experience with volunteering, I knew there was a need for pet friendly restaurants and dog parks in South Africa.

How do you go about when doggies do not behave?

Luckily, we have not had a case where the behaviour was unmanageable. Usually the owners                                 know their dogs very well and that always helps when it comes to introducing the dogs to the new environment.

If in the off chance that there’s a doggy that cannot play well with others, we move them to the second part of the park which is fenced off so that all the doggies can enjoy the day out.

What is on the menu?

We have some delicious food for the humans which includes burgers, ribs, boerewors rolls, steak, salads and dessert. The doggy menu includes beef bombs, pumpkin balls, breakfast bowl and some biltong and carob ice cream.

Do you believe in Networking?

100%, I think it goes hand in hand with marketing.

What advice can you give to school leavers that want to move into the hospitality business?

Be prepared to work hard and long hours. The rewards are all worth it.