Should dogs be allowed on restaurant patios in Vancouver?

Love dogs, but the only animals allowed on restaurant patios should be the kind that are cooked and on a plate. Same goes for any place dealing with food. I've seen a "comfort dog" (not service, jacket said comfort) take a crap in the middle of a grocery store and another very old dog with a homemade looking service jacket lick the windows of a meat display. Turns my stomach thinking about it.

The obsession with dogs has gotten out of control in this city and elsewhere. They are animals, not people, and do not have an inherent right to go all the places their owners go. Pet owners seem completely oblivious to the fact that animals present significant health concerns to many people. Of course I get a warm fuzzy feeling when a dog looks up at me with big adorable "love me" eyes. However, petting the dog, or even being in close proximity to the dog can unleash the full wrath of my body's immune system. The severity of the reaction depends on many factors but includes breathing difficulties, incessant sneezing, headache, the feeling that I need to scratch my eyes until they're raw and bloodshot, sinus congestion, itchy/painful hives, etc. What's more, the reaction can take several days to fully subside. Let me emphasize, this can happen just by visiting a house where a dog lives even if I have no actual contact with the dog. There are certainly many people whose allergies are far more severe than my own, and many with less severe symptoms. The point is that if we are to live harmoniously in this densely populated city, we need to be cognizant of the fact that certain moral rights take priority over others. The right to health and bodily integrity is pretty high up the list and surely trumps the convenience of bringing a pet to a restaurant. The only legitimate conflict is presented by the incidence of service animals, who provide a crucial role in health and safety for many people; these are the exception and not the rule. And even then, the situation is easily resolved: if your health condition is in tension with one already at the restaurant, you can simply go to a different restaurant. Let us please not jeopardize the health and safety of one another unnecessarily.

I like the idea that the decision of whether to allow dogs on patios or not falls to the owner of the establishment.

Cafes sure why not. But not a restaurant. I don't want to go to Earls and sit with a strangers dog breathing on my back. Do you think I let my dog sit at my feet when I eat at home? No she has a bed and she doesn't beg and nore would I want to encourage that behaviour.

Leave your pooch at home and he will thank you. It is not the environment other patrons went to the restaurant for. They smell, even if you bathe them all the time. They have an odour, So I'm told. I was born with out a sense of smell. They have bodily functions, pooping peeing, passing gas, breathing heavily because it's hot. They come with a self entitled owner on a string. They are tripping hazards for you, others and the staff.

Just say no.

Let individual restaurants decide! Some places will choose to allow dogs on patios others won't, so its not like every patio will become a dog park. Also, if you want to eat at a restaurant that has decided to allow dogs on their patio..... eat inside. Pretty simple.

"In a city known for social isolation" just put me off of even thinking about the issue. It may be time to stop blaming the city if you can't make friends.

I've taken a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to a local restaurant twice. One time he was tied up to a tree a few feet from our patio table (furthest from the main seating area). The staff were friendly to him, even petting him occasionally. The second time he snuck under our table and wasn't noticed by staff until we were just about to leave.

He's a very sweet and adorable dog, but he does have anxiety issues being around other dogs. While his impulse is to be submissive, some dogs are known to be aggressive or highly-strung around other dogs, which would disrupt everyone's patio experience.

If any restaurant owner ever allows a dog on their patio I will take my dining dollars elsewhere. And fo anyone who even remotely thinks this is a good idea should be severly beaten.

This is taking dog love too far. I wouldn't even let my own dog anywhere near a dining area! Given how poorly trained most of the city's dogs seem to be I certainly don't want to trust that they'll behave themselves.

I’m suspicious of people who don’t like dogs, but I trust a dog when it doesn’t like a person.