Pets and their owners are lapping up Germany's first
restaurant catering specifically for cats and dogs.
Beef, turkey or even kangaroo meat with broccoli or berries
are all on the menu which has been devised by a pet
nutritionist.
Treats in Pets Deli, which opened over Christmas in the
upmarket Gruenewald district of the capital, range from €3 to €6,
with cupcakes costing €4.
The gourmet eatery has seen a steady influx of hungry animals
for whom ordinary food simply won't do.
Owners can enjoy a coffee in the plush surroundings while
their pets tuck into a bowl of specially prepared meals, tailored
for the animals' digestion, or they can take the food away in a
plastic tray doggy bag.
Business owner David Spanier, 31, had the idea for the doggy deli
after finding his own canine friend could not digest pet food from
supermarkets.
'Junk food is bad for animals,' he told The
Local news website, adding: 'It's as
if I ate fast food every day. I may like it, but it's very bad for
your health.'
The store manager, Katharina Warkalla, is an animal nutrition
expert and serves up portions of beef, turkey or kangaroo meat with
broccoli or berries, and carbohydrates such as rice, pasta or
potatoes.
'The meat is of such quality that it could be safely consumed
by humans', said Spanier.
But the opening of the deli in the upmarket
neighbourhood of Grunewald, in the German capital has provoked
controversy, with some critics saying it is a symbol of pure
decadence.
Leading newspaper Bild asked: 'Does Berlin really need a
gourmet restaurant for dogs?'
Wolfgang Büscher, of the Ark charity, which works with
disadvantaged youngsters said: 'A store this
decadent gives the impression that we do more for animals than for
children.'
Lapping it up: A happy customer tucks into a bowl of
gourmet food at the Pets Deli restaurant for cats and dogs in
Berlin, German