In a massive victory for anyone who enjoys dining out with dogs more than they do human companions who just sit there texting other people anyway, L.A. County’s Public Health Department has granted restaurants with outdoor dining areas the full legal right to welcome dogs and make their patios and sidewalks as canine-friendly as they choose. Patch reports that the new policy overturns eons of fears that dogs breed nasty things like worms and germs, while most of us know their power to disrupt a meal is typically much less stealthy than that.
Fortunately, those of us who cheered the smoking ban only to grimace at the thought of a growling, gassy pooch eating beside us, there are several regulations that restaurants must follow to comply with the new red doggy carpet, including the need for a separate entrance that does not put pets in contact with the food-service area and a strict ban on employee-pet contact. So far, it sounds like the only real potential crime looming here occurs at the exact moment when your waiter can no longer resist petting your adorable Frenchie.
