It may soon be OK to go to dinner with your dog again.
North Carolina health officials are proposing a rule change that would let pets come to the table at outdoor restaurants as long as they don't go inside or do anything else that might contaminate people's food.
Terry Pierce, director of the Division of Environmental Health, said current rules are unclear about whether pets are allowed at restaurants. The rules say animals could not be let into food preparation or storage areas, and they specify that patrol dogs and service animals could be allowed in certain places.
Last fall, Wake County health inspectors began telling some restaurant owners that they interpreted the rules to mean pets were not allowed in outdoor dining areas. Tables on sidewalks and patios have proliferated in recent years and become popular with those who like to take their animals on play dates.
Some people hate cats. Others hate bureaucrats, and those people sent letters,e-mail messages and angry phone calls by the hundreds to the Food Protection Branch of Environmental Health, suggesting that their animals were less likely to cause food-borne illnesses than some restaurant workers and that surely the government could find better things to do than worry about a Shih Tzu sitting outside a coffee shop.
On the other hand, some people don't think restaurants should open their al fresco seating to patrons who scratch, pant, lick themselves and eat indiscriminately off the ground.
Dyrl Wood of Smithfield, an empty nester now, wrote the state to support Wake's dog ban, though he had a Brittany spaniel for years.
"But we didn't take the Brittany spaniel out to eat," he said in an interview Tuesday. "My view is that you can have them and love them and care for them, and when you go out to eat you can bring them some scraps to have when you come home.
"But don't require other people to dine with them. It's unappetizing."
The state put together a group to study the existing rules, similar rules in other states, and the opinions of business owners, pet-lovers and those who prefer to eat in the non-stroking section.
Under the new rule, restaurant owners could decide what pets, if any, to allow in their businesses. Those who do allow pets would have to restrict them to outdoorareas. Service animals would continue to be allowed inside restaurants.
The rule change also specifies that restaurants can keep guard dogs if they are fenced outside.
"By no means did we want to interfere with people and their interactions with their pets," Pierce said. "But we wanted to look at the risks involved. I think what we came up with is a good rule."
A hearing will be held on Feb.16 to discuss the regulation. Probably best not to bring the dog.
