Puppy Fever

This summer I lost my childhood pet dachshund Molly. I'd had her since I was 7 or so, and I remember when we took her home. She lived a long and full life, being the most beautiful and sweet doxie ever known to man. She never met a stranger. She licked you til your skin was raw, but you couldn't pry her off because she was just so darn cute. It was so hard, taking her to the vet that day. She was in pain, been struggling with some heart problems her whole life, and finally it caught up to her. I held her paw as she passed away, but I know she was finally out of pain. I was in mourning for a while, but ever since then there's been a puppy sized hole in my heart. Of course, I still have my other baby, Maggie. And she's been so good! But, I've pretty much always had two.



And now, here I am in Korea and have zero dogs. It is HARD. Not only did I have puppy fever since June, it's been multiplied exponentially since being here. Every time I talk to my mom, she puts Maggie on camera and my heart just melts. Recently it's gotten really bad, my puppy fever. I literally spend at least an hour a day, if not more, just looking at pictures of puppies on Pinterest. I think it will take every ounce of self control not to go get a dog the day I get back. But something happened tonight that I think will help to temper my puppy craze. Or at least satisfy it...

Well, my Saturday was actually pretty low key. Not boring, because I enjoyed it. But, basically I cleaned, did laundry, watched copious amounts of Parks&Rec and Boardwalk Empire, and started to pack for my trip to China next week. But, as the day drew to a close and evening set in, I found myself sifting through cuteness in the "Animals" section of Pinterest, yet again. And I honestly have no clue why I thought of this, but somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I remembered that Korea has pet cafes. I've never been to one, but I've heard about them.

Before I came to Korea, or maybe right after I arrived, I heard about them. Maybe online (probably). Then in Meyongdong, I saw a "Cat Cafe" (advertised by a person dressed up as Garfield with a poster on a stick). Since I'm allergic to cats and Garfield is ridiculous, I never bothered to even check it out. Then, when I first got here, I walked by a place around the block from my apartments that had a sign out and said something in Korean, then Puppy!, then had pictures of adorable dogs. I got nervous about what that could be, a pet store? a groomer? who knew! Tonight, somehow, my brain finally put them together and I realized it is probably a Puppy Cafe! I googled if that even existed in Korea, and sure enough I found a few big name ones in the larger areas of Seoul.

After some internal debate about if I was brave enough to go look for the puppy cafe in my area, I decided that I should. I mean, why not? So maybe I go downstairs at this building and it ends up being a pet store? What's that going to hurt? So I went.

And I am so glad I did! I walked in around 8:30pm, and peeked my head around the corner and saw a large room with about 15 dogs just running and playing, and maybe 4 or 5 people playing with them. So I figured they were open, asked how late (10pm close) and bought a drink. I guess that's pretty standard - buy a drink and playing with the pups is free. So, I got the most expensive OJ I've ever paid for (6,000W) and chalked it up to a necessary expense for the good of my heart.

I walked into the play area with my drink and put my stuff on the counter lining the play area. I sat down, unsure what the protocol was. I saw a couple playing with the dogs, giving them treats out of a cup. Another couple came in right after me, and sat down. Eventually I warmed up enough to start playing with the dogs. The person working at the cafe brought me a paper cup filled with little treats, and I started feeding the dogs. Man, they were precious. I can't even explain the endorphin rush that hit me as I was playing with those dogs. At first I was skeptical, because there were so many different kinds of dogs, and 2/3rds of them were very small breeds, all with bows and clothes on. But there was also a massive dog, who you could tell was a puppy but still the size of a small horse, as well as a Dalmatian  and the cutest fluffy puppy that was medium sized (I couldn't tell his breed).

This yippy thing kept bugging me to hold him over and over...

This one was my favorite. Fluffy fur ball...

I mean, that's the definition of precious, right?!

They were pretty riled up for the first 45 min to an hour, but a few of the smaller dogs wanted to lay in my lap. The couple that came in after me were really friendly and we communicated thru looks and a few words. We traded off holding the sleepy babies, and using our free hands to throw the toys for the bigger dogs.

This little black fur ball was so adorable! But hard to see in the pictures!

You can't see, but I have a black fluffy one in one arm, and the skinny black one in another!

For about 20 minutes I just sat and watched the cuteness, holding a totally knocked out white puppy on my lap. This dog was so zonked I moved her around several times and she literally just laid there and didn't care at all. Didn't even open her eyes. It felt wonderful to hold a sleeping dog. Seriously, wonderful. She was warm and soft and totally trusted me, a stranger, to hold her while she dreamed.

You can't even see her face, but she's curled into me.

Here's her precious face.

This little one loved my jacket and every time I took her off, she came back and laid down on it.

After most of the other customers left, actually all the others, the workers slowly started to put the smaller dogs away for the night. They didn't make me feel rushed to leave, so I waited until it was only a few minutes before 10pm. I sat on the floor and this dog literally crawled onto me and curled up. Then the dalmation, which was tuckered out from all his shenanigans, she came over and literally put her paw between the already sleeping dog and me, and shoved her way onto my lap. Which she did not fit on. It was the most adorable thing. They were like fighting over who got to sleep in my lap. I felt the best I've felt since my mom was here, honestly. There is nothing like puppy love...

This guy wasn't shy about claiming my lap.

Move? No thanks, I'm good here.

He is content in my lap <3 td="">

This girl nudged her way into my lap!

I finally got free, put my jacket on, and she plopped down on me again!

There's nothing like being loved by a dog.

Needless to say, this is going to be my weekend hang out. I'm in love and obsessed with the fact this place is literally minutes from my doorstep.

And, for a mega bonus, I think the people who work there genuinely love the animals. They play with them and love on them. Of course, I wish the dogs had humans to go home to, and more blankets and fluffy toys but they do have enough and there is no cruelty that I could see. So, I'm happy and I'll be back (many many times)