A Place at the Table for Fido!
New York City Allows Dogs to Sit in Outdoor Cafes
The New York City Health Department has relented! Dogs will be allowed to eat at participating outdoor cafes starting next month, just in time for spring.
Last year, New York state approved legislation allowing the move, but the city’s health department resisted and tried to impose onerous rules that would have made implementing the measure very difficult for cafe owners.
But as the New York Times reports:
The city’s Health Department issued an advisory on Tuesday that allows dogs to accompany human diners at restaurants with outdoor seating. The move follows the State Legislature’s passage last year of a bill that eased ruled regarding dogs and dining. While the dogs must be licensed and vaccinated against rabies to take a place at the table, the authorities will not insist on seeing your pet’s papers. Instead, participating restaurants must post signs informing customers about the requirements. “I’m so pleased that the City Department of Health threw dog lovers a bone,” State Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, who sponsored the state law, said in a statement. The new rules will take effect in 30 days, just in time for the spring sunshine, said Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the city’s health commissioner.
You can read more from the Times here and the New York Daily News here.
