by Robert Lambert

Created on: April 09, 2009

I am not a dog owner and, while I do like dogs, I don't have any plans to own one in the future. I do not feel that the addition of dogs would improve my dining experience in a restaurant, and I do not think the rights of dog owners are being infringed upon by keeping dogs out. But when someone asks whether something should be allowed, whether I personally would like to do it should not be a factor in my decision. I choose to do what I do based on my preferences, but it is unreasonable to require other people to follow my preferences rather than their own.

For that same reason, I dislike this question from the start because it presumes that I should have some control over what restaurant owners can do. I do not argue that restaurant owners should allow dogs, only that they should be able to allow dogs if they choose to. I choose not to go to some restaurants because of their high price, unhealthy food, loud music, or because I simply don't care for their food, but I don't argue that these places shouldn't be allowed to exist. In the same way, if certain restaurants decide to allow dogs, I and anyone else who doesn't want to eat with dogs can simply eat elsewhere. If one of your favorite restaurants decides to allow dogs, then it's up to you to decide whether their food is good enough to justify eating there. You might find that the presence of dogs bothers you too much, or you might find that it doesn't bother you at all. It's impossible to know until you try it.

I don't claim to know whether dog-friendly restaurants would do better or worse economically, but that's why we have a free market. Restaurant owners should be able to give it a try if they think it will improve their business, or if they simply love dogs themselves and want to allow them regardless of how it affects business. Maybe they wouldn't do very well and would only survive as a novelty, or maybe all but the most high-brow restaurants would start allowing dogs. We simply have to let the market test the idea to see how viable it is. Feel free to patronize only those restaurants that appeal to you, but neither those who want dogs in restaurants nor those who don't want them have the right to demand that restaurants cater exclusively to their tastes. Other people have tastes that differ from yours, and that's okay because you can eat at one restaurant and they can eat at another.

Those who oppose allowing dogs in restaurants bring up some safety and health issues, which are valid concerns. Dogs might

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