When Joanna Wane took her brother’s dog for a coffee walk, she was in for an unexpected treat.
There are about 830,000 dogs in New Zealand and on a sunny Saturday morning, most of them seem to meet up for coffee on the Petone foreshore in Lower Hutt.
The Flying Bean coffee cart, which sits halfway along The Esplanade – between the old wharf and the Petone Settlers Museum – has gone to the dogs since it opened in a mobile horse float almost 20 years ago.
Now a permanent fixture operating out of an old shipping container, it serves “puppuchino” fluffies with dog-treat sprinkles on top.
Its clientele is so diverse that standing in the queue to order is like stepping into the pages of a Hairy Maclary book.
I first came across it last year, when I was down in Wellington for Wow and took my brother’s Australian terrier, Gio, for a morning promenade.
My flat white came with a small complimentary cookie that looked like a miniature Gingernut.
Biting off half, I shared the rest with Gio, who mouthed the biscuit suspiciously before spitting it out on the ground. Feeling a little miffed at having my generosity rebuffed, I tossed the sodden reject into the bushes.
The following morning, I was back for another flat white. “Is your dog allowed treats?” asked the barista. “Sure,” I said, and she popped a little brown nugget on a paper napkin next to my cup.
Slowly, a terrible realisation dawned on me. Not only was the “biscuit” I’d eaten the day before actually a dog treat, but it was a dog treat that even the dog wouldn’t eat.
“Don’t worry, you’re definitely not the first,” owner Stephanie Keenan says, with a laugh, when she hears my sad story. “It happens quite often, even when we tell people they’re for the dogs.”
Keenan took over the business about three years ago and reckons dog owners account for about 40% of her customers. And it turns out Gio is an outlier with his snooty tastes.
Happy customers at The Flying Bean, a dog-friendly coffee cart operating out of an old shipping container by the Petone foreshore. Photo / Joanna Wane
Each week, The Flying Bean goes through about 500 Mutt Butter cookies, which are made from oat flour, peanut butter, molasses and canola oil. “Completely human grade,” she assures me.
For a more gourmet option, the coffee cart also sells homemade dog treats from Dukes Barkery, a local business that makes cookies shaped like a bone, dipped in carob and dehydrated liver. Yum.
Some of the dogs dance or do tricks for their treats, says Keenan. “We’ve got one that zooms around in circles really fast – you can see him doing it from a mile away. By the time he’s up to us, he’s getting dizzy.”
That’d be Jock, a Jack Russell terrier. Along with Indie (a border collie) and Hercules (a beardie). He’s one of the regulars who visit every day, rain or shine, says Keenan, who diplomatically describes the Petone foreshore as “very weather-orientated”.
They used to be the famous four until Jet, a retired racing greyhound, died unexpectedly. “We were all heartbroken; we couldn’t believe the news.”
The owner recently adopted another “adorable” greyhound called Bubbles, a favourite with the staff, who slip out to join some of the dogs on their walks when the coffee rush dies down. Says Keenan: “We’re a big family down here.”
According to the 2024 NZ Pet Data Report, almost a third of New Zealanders share their home with at least one dog, although canines are still outnumbered by our estimated population of 1.26 million cats.
Regular dog walks reportedly make both owner and animal feel less stressed. However, a recent study by Bay of Plenty-based company Addiction Pet Foods found only 51% of Kiwis walk their dog every day.
For Walk Your Dog Month in January, the company launched a Great Pet Walks guide, in a nod to our top tramping tracks: Eskdale Reserve in Birkenhead for dogs who like to explore the forest; Matai River Walk in Nelson for dogs who have allergies.
Sadly, there’s no classic “cafe walk” on the list and Petone Beach didn’t make the cut. Still, I can report dog walkers take their responsibilities seriously here and it’s largely a poo-free zone.
Paris is notorious, of course, for locals refusing to clean up after their pooches in public spaces. In Bolzano, a city in Northern Italy, a crackdown on dog poo is now taking the matter in hand.
All dog owners are required to submit their pets for a DNA test. Swab results will be stored in a police database and used as evidence to identify messy pups, whose owners face a fine of up to $2000.
Gio is not a large dog but sometimes requires three poo bags for his morning walk. In May, it’s his second birthday. If he’s lucky, I might order him a Pupcake. I wonder if he’ll share it with me.
