Law Change Allows Decatur Restaurants To Be More Dog-Friendly
Decatur Metro | December 1, 2015 | 10:30 am
You all excited about this?
Effective Nov. 1, food service regulations established by the Georgia Department of Public Health have lightened up with regard to dogs. Now, dogs are allowed within outdoor dining areas as long as those are accessible from the outdoors. The new regulation is applicable to the entire state of Georgia, with the exception of Fulton County.
You may recall that back in 2010, the city clamped down on restaurant patio dogs after the DeKalb County Department of Health received some complaints. This resulted in a clarification in the Decatur Focus and a 166 comment thread here on DM!
Here’s a selection of comments from that old thread, just for fun…
Who do I complain to about people wearing shorts in a public dining area? I mean, come on…if you don’t shave your legs, at least wear a hair net on them! (This should go for uncovered arms too.) – PMcG
First they came for the unruly children and I said nothing, because I was paying good coin for that meal and that unsupervised little spazz was ruining it for me. But then they came for the dogs… – Scott
There needs to be dog friendly places, kid friendly places, and those where neither are welcome. : ] That way, people can choose, and take their chances … – CrankyoldTimer
And now I just miss PMcG and Cranky. Sniff. “Vote Cranky! Free Westchester!”, he sob-yells into his morning cup of coffee.
I am certain that I am in the minority on this, but I’m posting my opinion anyway. I’m not for having dogs in my eating area—inside or outside. That’s just me. It’s difficult to walk down the sidewalk these days without stumbling over yet another leash. I don’t hate dogs. I just think the pet industry has most of us mesmerized.
Thanks for listening.
And as long as you lobby restaurant owners to not allow them, and not the govt., your opinion is good with me!
Replace “dogs” with “kids” and “pet industry” with “child-marketing” in your post, and that’d be how I feel about it. 😉
Fortunately my kids finally grew old enough for me to take them off their leashes. Those things really are a tripping hazard (both the leashes and the kids).
Wow–there was quite the lively discussion back then, eh? Hard to believe that was 5 years ago. Seeing comments from so many folks who are either gone from Decatur or who just don’t post anymore makes me nostalgic for some of them, in particular ol’ Gibbetties!
Makes me wish I was nostalgic for Bulldog, but he’s still here. I kid, Bulldog! I kid! 🙂
Nothing I like better than a cold snout in my crotch while I’m dining, or a vigorous round of butt-sniffing at the next table.
Can we at least keep dogs out of farmers markets?
watcha got against dog meat?
Anyone know why it doesn’t apply to Fulton?
that’s where the lawmakers eat most often?
There’s a restaurant with dog servers coming to Underground Atlanta.
Ugh. Really we need this? It appears I’ll be going on a firmly-worded Yelping spree.
Anyone else think a dog may have posted this?