Ballymoney has '˜best dog friendly cafe in the UK'

Café Country was presented with the the award - supported by the Kennel Club as part of their Be Dog Friendly campaign - during a special presentation in London.

The public voted in their thousands for their favourite canine friendly businesses as a way of recognising and celebrating those that go the extra mile to make man’s best friend feel welcome.

Café Country beat off competition from eateries across the whole UK to be crowned the winner of the ‘Café/Restaurant’ category.

Reasons members of the public gave for nominating the business included canine customers ‘being treated like royalty’ and ‘the warmest of welcomes from a team who are all pet obsessed’.

A spokesperson for the venue said: “We are delighted to win such a fantastic award and be recognised in the prestigious DogFriendly Awards.

“The team at Café Country work really hard to make sure every visitor feels welcome, whether they have two legs or four. The café was created alongside our pet lifestyle store, Pet & Country, because we know our customers love their dogs just as much as we do.

“It’s wonderful that our customers have taken the time to share their love for Café Country.”

Earlier this year the Kennel Club carried out a survey across the hospitality industry and found that a staggering 97 per cent of dog friendly establishments believed that welcoming canines improves their business.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “Huge congratulations to Café Country for being recognised as the best dog friendly café in the UK. Dog owners and their pets are a key part of any community and the café owners have clearly recognised this by going above and beyond for their dog-loving customers.

“We hope that other businesses will follow their example and benefit from the many rewards a dog-friendly attitude can bring.”

All of the DogFriendly Awards 2017 winners can be found at www.dogfriendly.co.uk/be-dog-friendly