SAN ANTONIO — For Desirée Chamorro, dressing her dogs is just as essential as walking them. She's the owner of a dog boutique called K9 Café and shared how her business got started.
“I had my Sophia – which is a miniature dachshund – and she loved to dress,” Chamorro said, standing in front of hundreds of outfits for dogs in her store on the northwest side. “She was very long and very thin. But she had that big chest so it was really hard to find outfits that would fit her – so I went out of my way and basically just ran with it. In my search, you know, I was finding that other people had problems finding stuff for their dogs – and not only were they miniature dachshunds, but they were bullmastiffs that were, like, 150 pounds.”
Chamorro said she made it her mission to find a way to dress all dogs.
“I made it a point to make sure I can fit from two pounds to 200 pounds,” she said. "I have harnesses, clothes, collars, leashes – even gold chains – and hats that fit big dogs and itty bitty dogs… You name it, we have it.”
Along with K9 Café, Chamorro also runs MVP Dogs, which sells licensed sports jerseys, leashes and toys of all kinds covering the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL – along with several college teams, especially those in Texas like UTSA, Texas A&M, UT, Baylor University and more.
“I’m a big football fan and I was literally like, ‘I’ve got to bring in sportswear for these dogs because I want my dog representing my team – and I’m sure everybody else does, too,’” she said.
K9 Café is located at 5440 Babcock Road, Suite 144, near Hamilton Wolfe Road.
“I do have a lot of regulars from all parts of Texas that come out to show their animals and they come and see me so they can pamper their pup,” Chamorro said.
She's looking forward to being at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo for her eighth year. Her booth will be located at Expo Hall 1, booth 1516.
K9 Café also has a ton of salon grooming services for dogs – and even cats, too. You can also opt to bathe your own pets for a reduced fee. There are also several specials on certain days throughout the week.
The store is open seven days a week and also sells birthday cakes that can feed several pups, that are also able to be consumed by people.