WHERE TO FIND THE PAWS THAT REFRESH 
Not 4 months into the city’s canine-friendly outdoor dining program, there are now a grand total of 12 Houston restaurants that have gained official approval to let customers bring dogs to their patios. More than half of the pooch-friendly establishments are in Montrose or River Oaks; only one is outside the Loop. [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Paws on Patios
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Why is this something that requires ‘government approval’? If someone buys some land, builds a restaurant (or leases), and wants to allow dogs, wtf business is it of the city?
What cody said. If you don’t like dogs on the patio, BUY THE RESTAURANT!!!
Ahhhh, that felt good! ;)
More like, if you don’t want to go to a restaurant that allows dogs, don’t go there. You’ll soon see places that cater to those who want to bring pets, and those that cater to people who don’t want to be around them.
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Amazing what freedom can do.
Animals. Crap.
Patio OK, inside NO.
And Cody, you know there are reasons.
Can you say piles of crap that don’t get cleaned up + flies?
Do you allow your renters to have pets in your apartments?
Get another red card Cody?
In any case yay for dogs. Let’s just hope irresponsible owners don’t ruin it.
My dog is more sanitary than your child.
Pyewacket2: I do allow pets in most places. Not allowing pets has it’s pros and cons just as doing so does.
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As a property owner, it’s up to me to set the policy on pets, and then deal with the consequences. A restaurant should be no different. If they allow pets and it becomes a large crap and fly zone, then they’ll quickly change policy as I’d imagine no one will want to eat there.
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My only point is let the person that owns the restaurant set the policy and live with the consequences (of either increased biz from pet owners, or decreased biz from people that don’t want to be around them). I don’t want that decision being made in city hall.
lost: You mean red tag? Of course I did. It’s Red-Tag-Wednesday! My favorite day of the week :-D
Hilarious.
furthermore, is this something anyone outside the montrose could even care less about? let’s stick to priorities guys.
All of the Creeks should adopt this policy.
Personally, I think it is weird to bring your dog to dinner. That said, with the owners’ permission my kid and I gravitate toward and pet the dogs we encounter in public places.
Can we put the dogs and the kids together, so the rest of us can eat in peace? Maybe at that Mexican joint off of Kirby and the SW Fwy that used to have the sandbox?
I’m usually pretty libertarian on social issues as well, but there is a legitimate public health and safety argument on this one. 1) Some people are deathly allergic to dogs. At the very least, a business that allows pets should be required to post ample signage. 2) Animals are individuals with unique personalities, just like people, but they lack the linguistic ability to communicate that they’re agitated or uncomfortable. A good owner can read the body language and exercise good judgement, but many people make poor pet owners, and some are just as deranged as the animals that they’ve raised; the same could probably be said about restaurant and bar owners and their clientele…but in any case, innocent bystanders are potentially in harm’s way. 3) Patrons place an implicit trust in a restauranteur and in the City to ensure that facilities are sanitary and properly functioning. They cannot be expect to be shown the kitchen before a meal to judge for themselves (that process would be unsanitary, itself), nor should they be expected to have the technical expertise of a health inspector. Depending on how pets are accommodated at a restaurant, code requirements should vary, too.
I think that most of these concerns can be mitigated by proper signage. Some of them require additional involvement. To that end, I do hope that opportunities for heavy-handedness or favoritism are minimized.
Reading these comments you’d think that this was some wild new idea. I’ve eaten on plenty of restaurant patios with dogs around – in Galveston, when I lived in Washington, when I’ve been in Europe – and by and large the dogs sat around (probably patiently hoping for table scraps). I can only wish the average child in a restaurant behaved as well as the average dog. I was quite shocked when I found out that Houston banned dogs on restaurant patios – Houston tends to be very light of regulation in general, and it just seemed like a completely weird thing to have been outlawed.
I’m not sure what terrible health risk you think dogs pose; can you name some diseases transmitted from dogs to people by casual contact? You’ve got a much higher chance of picking up a nasty bug from someone with a runny nose at the next table.
I’ve also never seen a dog defecate or urinate in a restaurant, though I’m sure it happens sometimes. I would expect that the dog owner would quickly clean up & enlist help from the staff if needed. But this is unlikely to be a problem with a decently trained dog, and most dog owners who go places in public with their dogs are pretty conscientious about these things (including keeping an eye on the dog in case there are warning signs of needing a trip out to the grass). (On the other hand, I had the misfortune of sitting near a couple who thought it was acceptable to change their kid’s diaper sitting in their plane seat… now that was revolting.)
In short – get a grip, and relax, people. This is a normal part of life in many, many American cities and the world hasn’t ended, horrible dog-spread plagues have not broken out, people have not been mauled by poodles while eating their burgers, etc. (On the other hand, people have been shot by other humans in restaurants…)
I think you see a lot of places in Montrose, by the way, because the neighborhood is compact and has lots of places to eat, so taking your dog for a walk and stopping for a bite to eat along the way is an appealing scenario on a nice day. I doubt many people put the dog in the car to take it to lunch (anywhere).
John, how about we compromise. Allow dogs in cafes off of Montrose. Disallow dogs in cafes off of Market Street. (If only you knew how many times I’ve been lunged at by attack dogs in east Houston this week. Although…I’ve got to say, it is funny when they head-butt the chain link fence. Also, the one owned by the blonde meth addict was playful enough.)
I might suggest that your experiences are a biased sample and I would point out that Houston is a big city.
Again, I’m not against allowing dogs into restaurants. I’m mostly just in favor of reasonable notice and sanitary requirements. For instance, dogs should only be allowed only on impermiable and washable floor coverings, not carpet, accessibility to a pooper-scooper or some such thing should be guaranteed, and adequate signage should be posted to inform patrons of the policy and to advise them to wear shoes (because ringworms are a bitch, so to speak). That sort of thing.
#15 John,
Just curious as I haven’t been in an airline restroom in some years so I don’t know, but are there changing stations in them now?
Where would you have someone change a diaper on a plane?
If you enjoy sharing your dining experience with animals, try sitting on the sidewalk in Mumbai or Calcutta.
There are health and sanitation rules in this country for a reason.
You seem unclear on what the new rules actually are.
My dog lives in my house and I eat there all the time, haven’t gotten a disease yet.
PYEWACKET –
There’s more room in the restroom than in the seat. It’s the right place to do it. As the flight attendant informed them, when they held up the dirty diaper and said “can you take this?”
Carpet on a restaurant patio seems unlikely.