He is a gentle being, born to a mom leading a desperate life.

And Renton's Sue Rider couldn't ignore his need for a home, or his jowly -- and strangely captivating -- visage.

So Rider, a self-described sucker for a pooch in need, adopted Dozer, a bulldog pup whose mother was pregnant when she was rescued from a Spokane puppy mill.

Ten years later, Dozer lives the canine good life, a pampered -- and popular -- dog-about-town. He doesn't move as fast as he once did, so Rider accommodates him by pushing him around her Kennydale neighborhood in a stroller. When snow and ice hit and the stroller was no longer practical, Dozer stubbornly insisted on being pulled around on a sled -- by Rider's boyfriend, who complained, "He has that sled-dog thing all wrong."

Rider also bought a Mini Cooper and put a mattress in the back -- the better to accommodate Dozer and his companions, a young bulldog named Beanie and an elderly, one-eyed Chihuahua-cross (also rescued) named Peepee.

"It's easier for them to get in and out of," Rider said.

The years have taken a toll on Dozer's waistline, but they've done nothing to alter his mellow demeanor. Last fall, he allowed himself to be outfitted in baby clothes and, along with Beanie and Peepee, wheeled around in a baby buggy at a costume party at a dog-training center.

Along with Rider, Dozer, Beanie and Peepee are regulars at Renton's Jet City Espresso, a coffee shop owned by Debbie Natelson.

They're in good company -- not all of it human.

Housed in a converted gas station with two bay doors that open to the outside, Jet City is funky, laid-back and a popular gathering spot for those with affection for coffee and canines. Piled high with books, collectibles and games, it's also a place where Natelson keeps "loaner eyeglasses" on hand for customers who forget their own.

On a recent morning, two dogs of uncertain breeding and a golden retriever waited patiently while their owners sipped lattes. A short distance away, John and Linda Middlebrooks sat with their two poodles, Buffy and BG.

Buffy also was rescued. Last summer, the couple agreed to take Buffy for two weeks while her owner, a woman who lived out of state but was being treated for cancer in Seattle, went home for a visit. When the woman died just after returning to Seattle, the Middlebrooks inherited a poodle.

"The Middlebrooks save the foam (left over in their coffee cups) for their dogs," Natelson said. "It's pretty funny."

Not that Natelson doesn't do her own share of pooch pampering.

"We probably dispense more dog treats than coffee," she said. "We serve them in biscotti cups. The poodles -- they're little so they get theirs in demitasse cups."

More than one pooch down on its luck has ended up at Jet City. Among them: a starving golden retriever one customer found and another adopted, and a lost German shepherd a customer found on his way to work. He dropped it off at the coffee shop and other customers took turns walking it until he could return to retrieve it. The dog eventually was returned to its owner.

Natelson, who doesn't have a dog of her own, but never seems to lack for canine company, laughed.

Jet City, now 16 years old, "is my teenager," she said. "And it's a total dog club."