PAWRENTS' PARADISE

Joo Chiat Road is where it's at for pet owners, with the many shops offering pet-related goods and services and pet-friendly businesses

- Stephanie Yeo

GoGo Wash, a 24-hour self-service dog wash that opened in August, is one of the newest pet-related businesses to open along Joo Chiat Road.

(GOGO WASH)

Every four to six weeks, financial adviser Karan Teo travels from her home in the Upper East Coast area to visit boutique pet hotel Break-Fast At Fluffy’s in Joo Chiat Road.

“I groom my pomeranian there, and when I’m overseas, she boards there. After grooming, we always go to The Barkery a few doors down to buy freshly made pet food. Sometimes, we walk around to check out some of the shops where you can buy pet food, toys and stuff like that,” says Ms Teo, who also has an eight-year-old Singapore Special.

Stroll along Joo Chiat Road on a weekend and it is not uncommon to see pawrents walking their dogs or having brunch at a cafe's outdoor area while their prized pets laze on the floor or stare curiously at passersby from a chair.

After all, the area’s charm lies in its ability to blend heritage with the hip, where old-school hardware and furniture shops stand cheek-by-jowl with trendy coffee bars and sleek boutiques.

What is unusual, though, is how many pet-related businesses have sprung up along that one road in the past five years. The Sunday Times counted over 30 such shops in the stretch of Joo Chiat Road from East Coast Road to just before Joo Chiat Complex.

According to an ST report in January, there are around 91,000 licensed dogs and about 94,000 pet cats in Singapore.

At least eight establishments in Joo Chiat Road offer animals for sale, while about five businesses have boarding facilities for dogs and one caters to cats. Pet-care services in that stretch range from doggie enrichment classes and daycare to swimming and veterinary services.