No

by Jimmy Flatbush

Created on: August 02, 2010   Last Updated: September 25, 2010

The typical greeting at a restaurant goes something like this:

“Good evening! Would you like a table for two?”

Now, we hear this follow up question far too often in an increasing number of restaurants:

“…and will your dog like extra treats this evening?”

Love for our canine companions has reached ridiculous heights, as municipalities across the United States enact ordinances allowing dogs into full and limited service restaurants. My city passed a similar ordinance two years ago, as the Mayor placated an ardent faction of dog lovers who wanted their canine companions to sit near them while they dined at outside venues such as patios and sidewalk cafes. Of course, it was an election year and the Mayor-a proud dog owner-did not disappoint his canine loving voter base.

Even though most of the ordinances restrict canines to outside dining areas, allowing dogs to saunter around among other canines and humans is an idea politicians should permanently store in the file “Ideas we thought were good that turned out to be disasters.: The potential for food-borne illnesses, and the threat to personal safety, are two compelling arguments for keeping dogs away from restaurants.

Restaurants are potential incubators for a number of debilitating food-borne illnesses. Recent national news stories concerning E Coli and Salmonella out breaks attest to the risks restaurant operators face when handling food items. Restaurant operators also deal with employee hygienic practices and food production systems that can lead to Hepatitis A and C. Moreover, most people (an estimated seventy percent) do not wash their hands after using the restroom. The geniuses who run local governments now want to add canines into this combustible food safety equation.

You do not have to be “House” to understand that canines present sanitation issues. The most significant issue is the fecal matter that accumulates under restaurant tables, and the urine dogs spray in order to mark their territory. Fecal matter contains bacteria that may precipitate life threatening diseases. The diseases are contracted either through contact with flies/mosquitoes or by cross contamination into the food supply. Flies and mosquitoes are one of the more frequently cited health code violations in restaurants. If canines are allowed in restaurants, these disease carrying menaces do not have to travel far in order to unload their bacteria.

The number of people who touch a dog before handling food exacerbates health concerns. Take the time to observe people at a restaurant that allow dogs. Do these people wash their hands after touching a dog? A predominant number of people do not was their hands after touching a dog. Instead, they grab a sandwich or lift a fork up to their mouths. Food safety experts recommend thoroughly washing our hands after we touch our hair. Yet, people rarely wash their hands after petting Fido.

Food safety concerns are reason enough to ban canines from restaurants. However, personal safety offers a cogent second argument for leaving canines at home during a nice dinner or a quick bite to eat. Watch “Animal Planet” when they feature a story about canines or a particular dog breed. Invariably, the episode will at least briefly describe the fierce territorial battles waged among canines. Allowing dogs into a dining area will intensify any territorial issues because of the food scraps dropped on the ground. Canines will not only fight over land, they will also battle for the pork chop bone dropped by an unwitting diner. Dog fights can injure people, especially children who heighten aggressive canine behavior by making sudden, unexpected moves. Do you believe allowing dogs into a restaurant is worth the risk of personal injury, regardless of how small you perceive the risk? Why would a restaurant operator want this potential liability added to his or her already onerous liability list?

Dog owners like to brag about how their dog is part of the family. Sometimes, they take canine adulation too far, such as labeling Christmas gifts with their dog’s name. Allowing dogs into restaurants is the latest attempt to level the plane between man and canine. The plane should not level, but split into two planes that occasionally intersect. One such place where the two planes should never intersect is at a restaurant, except in the cases when dogs assist people with their movement.

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