DUPONT CIRCLE – Encouraged by the success of cat cafés like Crumbs and Whiskers, local entrepreneur Regina Sanders has put her own twist on the animal restaurant concept with the opening of her new smoothie bar, Howls and Blenders. Instead of filling the shop with playful and adorable kittens, Sanders opted for using deranged, feral hyenas in order to give her customers a one-of-a-kind experience. “I admit, I was a little hesitant to use wild animals at first,” said Sanders while disinfecting a customer’s claw wound, “but it’s been great so far. Not to mention they’ve done wonders for my turnover time. The major health risks are a small price to pay to achieve this ambiance.” The shop features a menu of cleverly named smoothie flavors like Rabid Raspberry, Crippling Fear Coconut, and No Sudden Movements Mango, to name a few. Continued Sanders, “If Howls and Blenders does well, I already have some another venture lined up – Crocs and Lox. The idea is that you have to kill an Australian freshwater crocodile using only your bare hands and whatever plastic cutlery you can find before you’re seated. Aside from that it’s a pretty authentic New York bagel shop.” At press time, residents of the Georgetown neighborhood were beginning to look for anything in the zoning laws that specifically banning carnivorous African wildlife in small businesses.