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Maybe doggie dining wasn’t such a great idea after all

Back a few months ago I posted a blog entry about a new Florida state law that allowed restaurants to let diners bring their dogs along. There were a number of restrictions — the local communities had to sign on to the bill, and the restaurants had to have outside dining facilities, for example — but a number of restaurants signed on.

One of the local restaurants was Moon Under Water in St. Petersburg. Plenty of Moon Under Water patrons started bringing their dogs along for lunch and dinner. (The dogs had to stay on the floor, but still…)

Well, things got a little out of hand at Moon Under Water. Lots and lots (and lots) of dog owners started bringing their dogs. People and their dogs lined up out on the sidewalk, waiting for tables. Dogs urinated (and worse) on the sidewalks. Some dog owners were outraged that their dogs had to stay on the floor, so arguments weren’t unusual.

So on Jan. 11, Moon Under Water changed its mind. No doggies allowed anymore.

Tags: dogs, pinellas county, restaurants

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 25th, 2007 at 7:27 am and is filed under Market Trends, North Pinellas County, Pasco County, restaurants, things to do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Patricia Collier said at January 25th, 2007 at 9:46 am

   As owner of FloridaPets.net, I must keep track of what’s up with the pet-friendly lifestyle in Florida. I have read about the problems with doggie dining at the Orlando restaurant, but all-in-all, I’m hearing positive reports about doggie dining in the sunshine state. It is a three-year pilot program and there are going to be glitches.

   However, and I say this as someone who is blessed with a multi-dog household, the one “glitch” that can’t be overcome is an irresponsible pet guardian. My husband and I think having our dogs join us at a nice outdoor eatery is a luxury, not a right, and so we are careful and courteous and only take the fur kids who can behave themselves.

   I am hopeful that only responsible pet guardians will take advantage of doggie dining so as to not give it a bad name or cause the pilot program to not be made permanent in three years.

   My advice? If your dog is not ready for prime time, enroll him/her in a good basic obedience course. And please, allow your pet to tend to its bathroom duties prior to being seated on the outdoor patios. Do everything you can to make sure you and your pet are welcomed guests and are invited back again and again. If you can’t or won’t do these things, then please stay home.

   For an update on what areas in Florida are trying out doggie dining, or considering it, go to:

   Patricia Collier said at January 25th, 2007 at 9:52 am

   Sorry, the link given in my prior post for Pet-friendly places to eat in Florida did not work – the URL was too long. So, instead, please go to:

   http://tinyurl.com/32m5wg

2. Anonymous said at November 30th, 2007 at 3:00 pm

   Why can we American’s be responsible enough to handle some priveleges? Geesh, people have been taking dogs to restaurants in Europe for ages, with no problems or mess. What is our problem?

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