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"The current law does not allow animals," explains North Carolina Division of Environmental Health public information officer Laura Leonard, who yesterday participated in a public hearing on a rule revision that would permit pets on patios.
According to Leonard, the lone citizen who spoke at the hearing felt the new rule – which prohibits animals from entering the indoor dining area, eating table scraps, licking utensils and nuzzling with employees – was overly strict. But many North Carolinians aren't so inclined to share their restaurants with feathered and furry diners: The News & Observer reports hundreds of people have complained to the state that dogs would bring germs, fleas and noise to their favorite eateries.
The new rule would leave it up to restaurant owners to decide which animals – if any -- to welcome in their al fresco sections. Florida in 2006 adopted a similar ordinance: The Dixie Cup Clary Local Control Act, named for State Senator Charlie Clary's Yorkshire terrier, allows local governments to enact doggie dining statutes. Dogs are now free to accompany their two-legged friends to restaurants in dozens of Floridian cities, including Jacksonville, Miami Beach and Orlando. "Have a brewski together," then-Gov. Jeb Bush advised excited dogs and their owners.
When Tennessee last year passed a bill allowing dogs to dine out in certain counties, a few legislators found the topic hilarious. The Knoxville News reported Rep. Stacey Campfield wondered whether young dogs could patronize restaurants with smoking sections, venues reserved under state law for Tennesseans aged 21 and over. "Would that be in dog years or human years?," he wondered aloud.
Rep. Joe Towns was in a slightly more serious mood, worrying about the problems dogs could pose for diners with allergies and shuddering at the prospect of a dog defecating during his meal.
"I don't want a dog doing his business while I'm eating my food," he said.
North Carolina will continue to accept public comments through Apr. 5.
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2-17-2010 @5:57PM Noadi said... Service animals are already allowed (and if they aren't then NC is violating federal law) so to say all animals aren't allowed isn't exactly true. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'd like to bring my dog with me everywhere and she's well behaved but not all dogs are.
Since it's at the owners discretion I think it's unlikely many restaurants would allow animals indoors, it would probably be a niche market for dog lovers who choose to go to the restaurants because they can bring their dogs. Maybe putting items on the menus for dogs.
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2-18-2010 @10:58AM MikeB said... I'm an animal lover (dog, cat, 2 rats) but the last thing I want to see while I'm eating at a restaurant is a dog copping a squat next to my table or giving a nice shake and watching thousands of dog hairs fly into the air and settle on my plate. I can already imagine the disasters when a dog sees a squirrel or pigeon and lunges after it, taking down a server, table, or patrons. Not to mention incessant barking or aggressive behavior from poorly trained/socialized dogs.
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2-18-2010 @7:55PM Candee said... Mike, have a little empathy, many European countries and cities here in the states allow dogs and it works well, my little Maltese goes almost every where with me!
2-18-2010 @10:15PM Brian said... Candee, you sound like the type of woman I would love to take out for dinner and your little dog!
2-18-2010 @10:18PM Lisa said... Brian you are a pig, she would do best having dinner with her dog only.
2-18-2010 @12:58PM Gary said... I love my dog more than most people, but I dont think I would ever bring him to a restaurant nor would I frequent a place that allows it. This will all stop the first time someone's kid gets bitten by another patrons dog anyway...
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2-18-2010 @4:17PM Coop said... In restaurants? Are you kidding? I wish they'd ban pets from neighborhoods! Oh, shut up already. I love dogs - well-behaved, well-trained dogs that don't bark for no reason. (I hate cats in any form.) Unfortunately, many pet owners are clueless idiots who assume that everyone else also loves their little (or big) fur bag. We do NOT. Sure - you have every right to own a pet and take it out to eat with you. And, restaurant owners take note, I have every right to avoid any establishment that allows people to bring their pets anywhere near my food. Freaks.
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2-18-2010 @10:49PM George said... People like you shouldn't be allowed in restaurants.
Anyone who doesn't like dogs is a freak!!
2-18-2010 @4:17PM doodoolemonque said... I owned and operated a small restaurant in Florida for 3 years. I permitted dogs and really didn't care much about what the state (or county) said about it. My customers appreciated it, and those who did not, were welcome to leave. Very few did. No dog ever created a problem, which is more than could be said about my human guests. As to dogs biting a kid? Well, if that were to happen, it would have been because the parents of the child did not have a close watch on their offspring, not because the dog was not attended. To this day, I would rather dine in a restaurant which allows well behaved dogs, than one to which parents bring healthy, normal children, who by their very nature, tend to be noisy and disruptive to those other than their parents. When you add in those parents who should never had had children in the first place and allow them free run where ever they are, forget it.
I feel sorry for those who treat their dogs like people and for whom pets replace children as a repository of love, but this is different. A restaurant is a social environment, and as such, a better place for dogs than children (and some people). Those objecting need to get over their irrational biases and face facts. It is simply healthier to have a dog at your feet while dining, than to have someone who smells of the cigarette they put out, prior to entering the restaurant. Facts are facts.
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2-18-2010 @4:29PM Mack said... If a dog's owner takes his/her dog into public, that dog should be muzzled so that innocent babies who happen by don't get bitten! If a dog supposibly controlled by it's owner in a public place still bites a child .... then the police should have been called and the dog taken away. I have dogs and cats and other things, but not at my dinner table, unless I'm eating asian food, then they are ON the table ... yummy!
2-18-2010 @5:53PM Chad D said... I boils down to the parent/owner that wishes to bring their children/pets into an establishment. Too many parents think this is their R&R time at a restaurant and let their children run wild. On the other hand there are going to be pet owners that may bring in dirty smelly animals without manners or training also. When all is said and done, I think I rather put up with a farting dog than a screaming child!
2-18-2010 @6:10PM sterlingbasset said... Terry, YOU are the idiot! Dogs in restaurants are the norm in Germany, and their owners and the parents of children were all expected to look out for their charges! I think dogs in restaurants are a great idea whose time has come. I also have children And dogs. You should think before you talk! It's better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than open it and prove you are!!!
2-18-2010 @7:29PM doodoolemonque said... Okay, Terry, I'll let my daughter know she now ceases to exist. Must you prove yourself a dolt to make your point, or were you just expressing your lack of one? Mack, if a child wanders near a restrained dog, close enough to taunt the dog the dog into biting (the only way trained dogs would do so), then the PARENTS should be the ones charged with child neglect and endangerment. Its their child and they are responsible for its well being. That includes keeping it from "harms way." That's the way I viewed child rearing. I took responsibility for my child and her actions and I took responsibility for mine, too.
2-18-2010 @8:16PM SeeCee said... Here Here....RE: the dogs. I have YET to see a dog not give his owners warning when he has to take a potty break. NOT the same for children. I am a mom of grown kids and love my kids dearly, but I raised them to BEHAVE in public places. Several friends of mine own restaurants and the biggest complaint is "KIDS GONE WILD!" Wait staff are NOT baby sitters and parents should not bring untamed children into a fine dining establishment (or any dining area) unless they have a handle on their behavior.
It disrupts other people and frankly reflects poorly on the parents. (Perhaps the nanny has the day off?)
At any rate? Give me a cleam well groomed, well behaved dog anyday than the kids I've witnessed in the last 20 years!
2-18-2010 @4:18PM Jay Love said... I live here in Florida, I am not sure if its a statewide deal, but the county we live in does allow pets , (seperate from service animals) with their owners in outside patio settings. this has been the case for several years now and I have never heard of anything negative happening so far?
of course this is not a forced rule, restuarants are free to embrace this or not, as they choose, which should be the case. business should be able to make the rule within the laws and reason depending on their own customer base as they see fit. don't like that restuarant, find another more to your liking??
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2-18-2010 @5:46PM Ann said... I to owned a restaurant In Georgia with out side dining. Our customers would bring their dogs and enjoy their breakfast or lunch. The dogs were always well behaved. The outside tables were always full . With customers with and with out dogs.
On the other hand .The Parents of some of the children allowed there children to run unsupervised all over the restaurant. Under the feet of the wait staff carrying hot food on large trays . I would have to bring the children back to the parents and insist the children remain seated. Well behaved children and dogs welcome..
2-18-2010 @4:23PM George Lopez the biggest Racist on t.v. said... George Lopez the biggest racist ON T.V. BOYCOTT TBS TILL THEY CANCEL THE SHOW.......
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2-18-2010 @4:52PM Bob said... Hey first I could see if it was a seeing eye dog.
And to "George Lopez the biggest racist on tv" that's not even about duh!!!
2-18-2010 @4:31PM mjr91 said... I've never heard complaints about restaurants in different cities that do allow dogs in. They're usually better-behaved than most of the children who come in, and they're owned by people who care about their animals, train them, groom them, etc. I only wish that restaurants were more amenable to cats. My neutered male would certainly love to go to a seafood restaurant with me and have his own plate of fish. He likes to curl up on chairs, and is no nuisance at all -- and as a Siamese, he doesn't shed all over the place. Anyone who doesn't know that animals make great, well-behaved dining companions when they're properly trained is in the dark ages.
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2-18-2010 @4:59PM davesgirl said... Gross