There's a new dog on duty at Kelowna's quirkiest coffee shop. Pulp Fiction serves-up top quality cappuccinos and lattes up front, with a treasure trove of antique books, posters and collectibles in the back. But the other thing that has always set it apart is the presence of a dog. For seven years, a standard poodle named Robbie was a fixture. With his passing last year, there is now a Robbie the 2nd, or Artwo. The new canine ambassador is now a year old and is settling into his role.
"A lot of people would come in just to see Robbie," reminisces Pulp Fiction proprietor Max Sloan. "On occasion, they wouldn't even buy a coffee, they would just come in to see him."
Photo credit: Alex LeeRobbie
Sloan said the standard poodle added an element to the business that no person ever could. "He had his own Snapchat. He had his following, yeah," said Sloan.
There's now a memory wall for Robbie in the shop, and sitting in the threshold between coffee-shop and book store, is Robbie's year-old successor.
Photo credit: KelownaNowArtwo
"He's doing pretty well. For a year-old, he's doing amazing, yeah," Sloan said. There are certain things a dog in his role has to master.
Photo credit: KelownaNowArtwo
"You don't want him jumping up," he noted. And Artwo is getting used to interacting with the customers who come to visit.
"He really likes the ladies, he's a ladies man. Men not so much." And while he works on building trust with male clientele, he also has to stay behind the threshold between the coffee shop and book-store.
Photo credit: KelownaNowArtwo
"He's got it, pretty well mastered. You can see there's a portion sticking out, but he's got it pretty well," confirmed Sloan.
The proprietor said more businesses should consider having a dog around. Most people like it, their owners like it and dogs like nothing more than to be with their people.
"People always say that they're like family. Well no, they're not 'like family', they ARE family."
