Dogs On Restaurant Patios OK Under Michigan Bill, Maybe

LANSING, MI — Companion dogs would be free to accompany their owners to outdoor restaurant patios — or not — under a bill approved by the Michigan Senate Wednesday on a 32-6 vote. The same bill would give local jurisdictions the right to keep dogs on a tighter leash.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Margaret O’Brien, a Kalamazoo Republican, failed to gain steam in three previous attempts. But now that it has passed the Senate, she’s hopeful it will become law. With more hotels allowing guests to bring their dogs and a proliferation of dog parks and dog drinking fountains , making dogs verboten on restaurant patios is hurting Michigan’s all-important tourism industry.

A handful of legislators disagreed, saying that when dogs “doo” what they naturally “doo,” it can spoil other diners’ appetites.

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“If I’m on the porch and eating outside and the dog does its normal, natural thing right on the porch, I can’t control that. But I’m sitting there seeing that and I’m trying to have a meal. I have a problem with that,” Sen. Darwin Booher, an Evart Republican, told the Detroit Free Press. “I wasn’t on the favorite side today, doggone it. But dogs are going to do their thing. When you bring them into contact with others, it doesn’t always go well.”

O’Brien said she doesn’t plan to take her two dogs to outdoor restaurants, because they are “just too food-motivated,” The Detroit News reported.

Tell Us: If a restaurant allowed companion dogs on their outdoor patios, would it increase or decrease the chances that you would eat there?

“They don’t fit in that setting,” she said, “but there are some really well-behaved dogs that would fit.”

Not only would local jurisdictions be able to pass ordinances to allow or prohibit dogs in outdoor seating areas, the legislation also allows restaurants to set their own policies. There are some other caveats, too.

Restaurant interiors would still be off limits to dogs, and pooches couldn’t sit on tables, counters, chairs or their owners’ laps. The bill also provides for cleaning procedures that must be followed and also employee hand-washing practices.

The legislation, Senate Bill 122, now goes to the House for consideration.

Photo by kennejima via Flickr Commons