Fancy a pint with the pooch?

You can now take your four-legged pal down the pub for a bit of canine socialising with a drop of special non-alcoholic dog beer to wet their whistle.

The Robin Hood Inn at Smithfield near Carlisle opens its doors one Saturday afternoon a month for Dog Club where pets have free run of the pub thanks to the entrepreneurs Tita Kiss and Craig Hennessey.

The couple, who also have other business interests of their own, recently took over the pub with the aim of turning it into an important part of the community while providing jobs for locals.

They currently employ 12 people.

In the run-up to Christmas Tita and Craig are organising a raffle for the village's Fir Ends School. The pub also hosts three darts team in the Lyne Valley League.

One of their novel ideas is the club for dogs which is already proving popular with customers and their pets in conjunction with Carlisle dog walking service Walk Woof Wag.

Tita explained: “Well-behaved dogs are welcome at any time but one Saturday a month between noon and 4pm we give the pub over to them so they can run free.

“We advise other customers what to expect during these hours in case they don't like dogs. However for dog owners it allows them to feel comfortable with their animals so they can relax with a drink and a bite to eat.

“For the pets we sell special Woof Dog Beer, which is basically a light gravy, and unlimited treats during the afternoon.”

Woof Dog Beer is made in Tynemouth in the north-east by Gabrielle Imerson whose husband Ewan McCann owns the Three Kings Brewery in North Shields.

“I make the dog beer from the unused brewers' wort left over from Ewan's brewing so that it doesn’t go to waste. Aberdeen Angus meat bones and marrow bones are cooked for 24 hours then mixed with the wort,” she explained.

Tita, who is from Hungary, and Craig took over the pub earlier this year but have just started serving meals after the kitchen was refurbished following a fire.

The couple, who have been together for two-and-a-half years were previously at the Hidden River Cafe at Brackenhill near Longtown.

The Robin Hood is their first solo pub venture although Craig runs a private dining business and Tita is a fully qualified Swedish masseuse, working out of the Atlas Works in Carlisle with her Cloudberry Massage enterprise which has Federation of Holistic Therapies status.