We’re The Furballs Dog Cafe (with 2017 Update)

2017 UPDATE: We’re The Furballs Dog Cafe @ Bugis+

What do you when you love dogs but can’t have one for your own in Singapore? You go to a dog cafe, that’s what.

First things first – what is a dog cafe? 🐶

A dog cafe is a cafe which has a bunch of pooches that you can pet and and play with.

Great idea, eh? This idea apparently sprung from Japan, where someone realised that there was a need for stressed businessmen to relax by bonding with felines and came up with cat cafes. When that became popular, someone in Korea then thought hey, why not dogs, too? Somehow, that idea made its way to Singapore, much to our delight! 😄

So last Saturday after watching Maleficent, my friends and I headed over there. We took a cab because there were four of us and we were quite near the place, but there are a number of buses you can take to get there. You can check which ones through Gothere.sg.

The place is quite easy to spot, it’s somewhere between Botak Jones and Katok 328 Laksa, and they have a colorful signage.

You have to climb some stairs to get to it on the second floor. Once there, have to pay a fee of S$9.50 on a weekend or S$8.50 on a weekday. This includes a choice of drink and you can spend as much time as you want in the cafe.

There is a dog-free area where you can choose to consume food, should you want to. They have a separate menu.

This area also houses a doggy treat claw machine, a game you can play for $1 per try to win doggy treats that you can use to bribe the dogs to come to you. Dred and I tried it twice and didn’t win anything. Hmph. They really should just sell the dog treats instead of cheating torturing the customers this way!

Beyond this area is the dog playpen. When we got there we were greeted with a chorus of barks. They get really excited each time new guests arrive.

You can bring your drinks inside, just make sure to keep it out of reach of the dogs.

The first thing you should do when you get in is read the rules on the wall (LOL at #6). Also acquaint yourself with the dogs thanks to the cute organisational chart right next to it. It would probably be nicer if they include the dogs’ breeds.

I wish I had read the rules earlier and known that Duchess and Bui Bui are chewers, because they immediately went for my shoe straps! I had to take off my shoe to get it away from them. Bad dogs! 😠

You can’t stay angry with them for long, though, coz they’re so freaking cute, and they don’t smell bad at all! In fact the whole place doesn’t stink of dog and is obviously well maintained. Here are some snaps of them.

Check out Crazy Eyes over there at the bottom, haha! Duchess is the most hyper one of them all. She barks the loudest and the most. She and Bui Bui and Slinky like to hover around guests, while Lola, Yuki and Lulu are the ones you have to really run after, if you want to play with them.

Lola has quite a temper too. She doesn’t like to be touched. She’s like a cat, actually. We didn’t get to see much of Mochi because she was sleeping on someone’s lap the entire time we were there.

They all went very hyper when it was dinner time, around 8pm, and they could smell their food being prepared. They all started yapping and running around and clawing at the door. Haha.

If only it were that easy to get them to pay attention to me! I’m telling you, it’s not easy to get a dog to come near you. Maybe because it was our first time and we didn’t know what to do yet. “Here insert name of dog here!” doesn’t work, and neither does gingerly trying to pet them.

I guess I was just afraid of the dogs, because when I first tried to pet one (Lola), she barked ferociously like she was going to bite me. 😨

Still, I probably wasn’t as scared as Jems, as you can see in this picture. I have to say I am touched she and Maya still decided to come with me and Dred even though they’re not that crazy about dogs. #truefriends

But the moment I managed to finally pet Lulu (whom I had my eye on because our family used to have a poodle like her), Dred grabbed her and held on for dear life.

Then we stroked her to submission until she was so content that she didn’t want to leave anymore! So I guess the moral lesson is… if you want something, you have to boldly grab it? Haha!

After our success with Lulu, I became confident. So the moment Yuki was free, I grabbed him.

See, Dee, that wasn’t so bad, was it? 😜

It was a very happy experience. Petting dogs is literally therapeutic, it’s backed up by Science and stuff. Really. So go over there and grab a little happiness, stat! 😃

P.S. Read all about my visit to a cat cafe in Bugis. 🐱

WE’RE THE FURBALLS
🏠 45 East Coast Road Singapore 428765
📞 Phone: 6348 6330
💻 Website: facebook.com/wearethefurballs/

For my Singapore food reviews, check out this tag ➡️ #sgfood