Jamie Benfield, left, and Matthew Meagher are the owners of Stray Café.

Larisa May

Audio By Carbonatix

Arizona’s first dog café opened in Phoenix last week. Stray Café, located near Seventh and Virginia streets in central Phoenix, gives local shelters and rescues an opportunity to share their adoptable dogs with guests. 

Jamie Benfield of Rockstar Rescue had been thinking about opening a space like Stray Café for five years, hoping to create a positive environment for rescue dogs to interact with people, before finally making it a reality this month. 

“I kept thinking of ‘How can we make (the) adoption process better?’ where people can have an opportunity to meet a dog outside of a crate, off leash, in a friendly living-room-type environment, where they can present themselves how they naturally are,” she says. 

To create this environment, Stray Café partners with local rescues to bring in rescue dogs who are ready to go to their forever homes. With 16 years of rescue experience, Benfield already had a list of rescues she knew would be a good fit, but she makes sure any interested rescue is given a fair shot. Benfield and her team research the rescues and get second opinions to ensure the organizations align with their mission. They also make sure to evaluate the dogs before their visit for behavioral issues or contagious illnesses. 

The lounge doesn’t limit breeds or dog sizes, instead basing selection on their personalities and ability to get along well with humans and other dogs. 

Larisa May

Andrea Smith from Cruz’s Crusaders brought her pups into the lounge several times during the opening week, during which five of her rescues were adopted. 

“It’s awesome,” Smith says. It’s nice socialization for the puppies. People get to come in and hang out. You know, not your normal adoption event.” 

The dog café concept is a bit different from the traditional cat cafes that guests might be used to. One key difference Benfield thinks guests should be aware of is the level of energy dogs typically have compared to cats. 

“A cat cafe is a lot quieter, a cat cafe is not as active,” she explains. Also, the dogs are loud, they’re playing. They’re, you know, going to the bathroom where cats kind of go in a litter box, so just kind of things to watch out for. But it’s a lot more energy, which I think is a good thing.”

Benfield assures guests that although there may be hygiene concerns, everything is kept clean. Every morning, the whole area is cleaned, including toys, sitting areas and mats. After the first batch of dogs leave, the cleaning is done again, and once more before closing. 

Larisa May

The experience isn’t limited to those planning to adopt a new pet. Gina Garcia and her daughter weren’t looking to adopt, and instead visited the lounge to spend an afternoon playing with some dogs. 

“It’s been a fun experience, especially for my 10-year-old to get here and run around with the dogs and interact with them,” she says. 

Guests can usually expect five to nine dogs to be out during their visit, but that number varies based on rescue availability. Various drinks and snacks are available for purchase, as well as Stray Café’s house blend coffee. 

The experience is $18 for ages 14 and up, $15 for those ages 5 to 13 and free for children under 5. Tickets can be purchased through their website, straycafe.org.

Since the café has only been open a little over a week, they’re still working out their schedule with different rescues. 

“In these early phases, we just really want people to be a little bit patient,” Benfield says. “A lot of rescues have reached out to book with us, but they just haven’t been onboarded yet. So sometimes there may be days when we don’t have as many dogs as we’d like to … but we will get there. I think by next month we will be fully booked with all sorts of different rescues, and I think the public’s gonna be really happy with what’s going on here.” 

710 E. Virginia Ave

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Larisa May has a passion for Phoenix arts and culture. A graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, she covered Valley news while uncovering its hidden gems. When she’s not reporting on community events or attending concerts and movies, you can find her checking out local vintage shops with a coffee in hand.