TELT Magazine

CALLING ALL
DUG LOVERS
The Edinburgh Chihuahua Cafe is bringing
man’s best friend to the city in the best way
dogs - owning golden
retrievers and jack russells
throughout her childhood.
However, her brood of eight
chihuahuas only expanded
this year. Before her trip to
Japan, Salitura had just one
dog. When she decided to
take the plunge and open her
own business in Edinburgh,
she got seven more, as you
do.
All eight girls live at home
in Fife with Tanya and her
husband, Ross. The cafe
will just be their day job
and they’ll head home every
night.
So why chihuahuas? “We
wanted to select a breed of
dog that would be suited to
the environment of a cafe
and enjoy the experience
as much as our guests.
Chihuahuas are also one of
only a few breeds to have
full colour spectrum in their
coats and varying fur lengths
meaning each of our dogs
looks very different. This
helps visitors identify different
personalities and allows
them to really get to know
our girls on an individual
basis,” says Tanya.
Five-year-old chihuahua
Ama, eldest of the crowd
and founding member,
watches out for her younger
sisters. Duchess is described
as being a little ditsy but
loveable all the same. Cleo,
the most independent of the
bunch, has an adventurous
and playful spirit. Bee, the
most joyous of her sisters,
has bundles of energy.
Younger siblings Elsa,
Faery, Gatsby and Hepburn
are still puppies but are
quickly developing their own
unique personalities too.
The four love nothing more
than playing with their toys,
snoozing in the arms of anyone
willing to cuddle them
and will all happily pose for
selfies.
The sisters are named
alphabetically - in the order
Tanya got them. This is with
the exception of smallest and
youngest chihuahua, Faery,
who came as a welcome
surprise.
According to Tanya,
people all over the country
are going crazy for the
concept following the popup
events and are excited to
meet her eight furry friends
when the cafe opens this
month.
By MeganTaylor
The eight fluffy pooches of
Scotland’s first ever ‘dog
cafe’ have been socialising
at a number of pop-up
events across the capital
this summer and are now
eager to meet you, yes you.
With puppy tea parties and
‘pawsecco’ on tap, dog-loving
Scots have a whole new
way to get involved with their
pets.
Owner, Tanya Salitura, is
the proud mother of all eight
girls. A self-confessed animal
lover, she admitted the
initial inspiration behind the
cafe came to her after she got
her first chihuahua puppy.
After travelling to Japan with
her husband, where animal
cafes originated, Tanya realised
she was on to a unique
concept for Scotland.
“Once the cat cafes started
opening in the UK and I
took a trip to Japan and saw
the popularity of animal
cafes there, I decided to
make my dream a reality and
create an environment where
I could spend all day with
my best friend and share
that special bond with the
world.”
Tanya grew up around
TELT: Winter Edition 13