House of Hounds: London gets inevitable dog café

Because dogs are in no way a pain when there's food and drink around

Dog cafe is a good excuse to use this picture of a pug puppy in a teacup (Getty)

After the announcement of London's first cat cafe threatened to derail the internet last year, it was only a matter of time before an establishment for dogs popped up, and so it has in the form of the soon to open House of Hounds in Shoreditch.

Offering 'nutrition, grooming and accessories' for canine customers, the café is set to open in spring, it having recently set up a basic holding website along with Twitter and Facebook pages.

Its main rival in the emerging pet café market (?) will be Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium, which houses felines rescued from shelters.

House of Hounds set out its grand plans on Facebook, writing: "We are super keen to hear from artists, sculptures and designers about all things 'dog-tastic'.

"We want to sell dog orientated items for humans and also want to be an event space- holding product luanches, art exhibitions, special offers and much, much, much more!"

Now if only someone will respond to my pitch for a giraffe nightclub.

Update: We have been contacted by the owners of Scooby’s Boutique Coffee Bar in Muswell Hill, a two- and four-legged friendly café which opened its doors to the paying and pawing public in January. Scooby’s says it is the first café serving hounds and humans in London. We are happy to set the record straight. (Update published 10 March 2014.)