I spend a lot of time each week culling through news articles and blogs. Over the last year I have seen a large increase in the number of pet-friendly establishments popping up around the country. I really thought I had seen everything. There are restaurants, hotels and even retail stores that allow dog parents to shop with their pets. Now, to the delight of many dog loving tea drinkers, pet owners can even spend tea time with their furry best friend.
If you’re looking for another way to spend some quality time with your canine companion, you can sit outside and enjoy a fresh cup of tea and all the splendors of fall at Cucumber & Chamomile in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The local tea shop now caters to TeaPups, offering a tea service that includes a line of products made specifically for dogs.
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Owner of the Tea Shop at Cucumber & Chamomile, Meredith Mulhearn is a huge animal lover. When asked about how she came up with the idea of TeaPups, she said:
“When I first opened the shop I would put out a water bowl for our local canine friends, but no one ever brought them by. I realized I should really have dog biscuits, but thought it would be so much cuter to have special scones for dogs. I approached Elizabeth Eckerdt of Elizabella's who lovingly prepares our weekly scones. She was open-minded about the recipe I researched and gave it a whirl. They were a success! But then I felt that if their owners got to enjoy tea with their scones, our canine friends deserved the same. So, I started researching and discovered that there was a company in the UK that made blends of tea exclusively for dogs. I called them up, convinced them to ship to the U.S. and the rest is history!”
Along with pup-friendly teas and scones, the shop also offers pouches of doggy tea for customers to take home. The different blends include benefits for digestion, anxiety, skin and coat, fresh breath, and there is even a special blend for senior dogs. Cucumber & Chamomile also sells a blend designed to make pet parents happy. It’s called Hap-PEE Lawns, and it is designed to prevent lawn burns from dog urine.
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Mulhearn is a nutrition therapist, and she wants people to know that there are options for food and drinks for dogs that will not only serve as a delicious treat, but will also benefit the dog’s overall health and well-being. She offers a line of herbal dog treats that she says compliments the tea very nicely.
I thought the concept was silly when I first heard about Cucumbers & Chamomile and their herbal teas for dogs, but it’s actually not a bad idea. Clearly, the tea shop does enough business with humans to remain in business, and a lot of those people probably have pets at home. Why not open your door to dogs and increase your sales at the same time?
I’m not a big tea drinker, but I do love spending time with my dogs. I bring them to all the pet-friendly establishments in our area, and I would definitely bring them to a tea shop or café that offered dog-specific services if there was one near our home. I know that herbal teas and treats have a lot of benefits for humans, and they do for dogs as well. It is certainly a creative business venture, and I’m sure Mulhearn is already receiving a lot of positive responses from her regular customers.
