Dolce Dogs, which recently opened in Parkhurst, takes pooch pampering to a whole new level.

Dolce Dogs

When dog lover Jabulile Dayton moved to South Africa from Seattle in the United States in May 2009 it was with the intention of opening a hotel with her cousin. When it fell through and a friend asked her what she was going to do it struck her that the venture was her relative’s dream and not her own.

At the time she needed to travel overseas and could no find professional boarding or a house sitting service that matched her high standards for her constant companion, Biscuits. Forced to compromise, an idea began to germinate that has grown into Dolce Dogs.

Dolce Services

Taking a concept that is growing in the US and Europe, Jabulile offers grooming of ‘clients’ in a safe environment where the dogs are not caged. ‘Grooming can be stressful for dogs as they are in a strange environment, with strange sounds, being handled by strangers,’ she says. ‘Our staff are thoroughly trained professionals and if they sense a dog is getting anxious they will stop and play with it.’

Dolce tries to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible, so all shampoos and products are from the Purl range, which use organic ingredients. Dogs can be left for the day or the owner can wait in their wi-fi Good Dogs Café while their best friend gets the full treatment.

They also offer cage-free day-care and boarding facilities with huge dollops of love thrown in. And if your pooch really is one of the family, as it should be, you can celebrate their birthday with them and their friends at this cool spot.

Top-of-the-Range Products       

Dolce stock only Vondi’s holistic dog food and treats. They are makers of freshly cooked pet’s meals made from real, high quality ingredients. ‘After more than 10 years in the pet nutrition business, we are absolutely convinced that the poor health of our pets today is directly related to the poorly processed packaged and tinned food they are eating, which are loaded with stuff like colourants,’ says owner Paul Jacobson. ‘Most of our pets are suffering from various ailments and problems, which usually go away in a matter of weeks when we put them on a natural diet of real food.’

There are also crazily coloured collars and leads and cushions. For that special princess there are even proper beds with wooden bases. I especially like the raised bowls, which means your dog does not have to bend all the way down to eat or drink.

Jabulile Dayton

 Jabulile Dayton (read more about her in an upcoming Mzansi Sista profile) is a feisty, beautiful ball of energy with a passion for dogs. Her mother was the youngest daughter of the first black Anglican bishop in South Africa, Bishop Alphaeus Zulu. His tenure as Bishop of Zululand from the late 60s through to the mid 70s was dogged by controversy as whites abandoned the church rather than let him lay their hands on their children during confirmation and the apartheid regime constantly harassed him.

Her father was an ultra-liberal white American doctor with a gift for languages and a calling for community medicine. While working at a clinic in the then Zululand he met a trainee nurse and they fell in love. It was at the height of apartheid and the couple left for the US, with her pretending to be his maid.

Made in Africa

Unbeknown to them then she was pregnant with Jabu, who was born in Arizona. When she was four her parents moved to Botswana for three years before returning to the States and finally settling on an island off Seattle.

Jabu visited South Africa regularly with her mother and fell in love with the country. When her father died after an accident in 2008 she began to make plans to come home. This country is the richer for that decision.

First Meeting

I first met Jabu about six months ago when her dream for Dolce Dogs was ready to become reality. I was immediately taken by her intensity, humour and care for all living things. This is someone I am proud to call my friend.

She was then looking for premises and shortly after found what appeared to be the perfect place on busy 6^th Street in Parkhurst. She was soon to find out that there is still a bit of the mining camp in the heart of Jozi, because a shady estate agent and deranged landlord nearly put paid to her plans.

But good things happen to good people and the property across the road became available. With what little she had left she opened Dolce Dogs, which is set to revolutionise the pet grooming and care business in Johannesburg. She deserves your support and your best friend will be even more loving and devoted because they deserve it too.