DOVER, Del.- Delaware lawmakers are formally proposing that the state allow restaurant owners who have outdoor patios at their establishments decide whether leashed dogs should be allowed in those areas.
House Bill 275 was filed on Friday and permits the owner of a beer garden or food establishment to permit leashed dogs on licensed outdoor patios of food establishments and in beer gardens. The bill is a direct response made to a large amount of complaints leveled against the state on social media after Delaware's Division of Public Health last month posted a reminder on Facebook that pets are not allowed at restaurants, including in outdoor patio areas.
House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach) is a chief sponsor on the legislation. He said in an interview with WRDE last month that he sided with the hundreds of pet owners who spoke out against the policy against allowing businesses to welcome dogs to their patios.
The decision to allow dogs on patios, Schwartzkopf said, should be one made by business owners and not automatically denied by a rule that has not regularly been enforced.
"If they can keep it clean when they have outside animals on the deck...that's all public health should be worried about," he said.
Despite the bill's introduction, lawmakers are unlikely to consider the bipartisan legislation until the 150th General Assembly reconvenes as a whole in January.
Delaware law states pets are not welcome at restaurants, leashed or otherwise, unless they are qualified service animals. Exceptions exist for live animals if they are edible or decorative fish in aquariums, shellfish or crustacea on ice or under refrigeration, or patrol dogs.
In an update to its initial post on the matter, DPH wrote the policy was not new and noted pets like dogs can pose health risks because they can transmit pathogens, shed hair, produce liquid or fecal waste, or potentially bite someone. Many people also have allergies to dander or saliva produced by dogs or other animals.
"To date, inspectors have not strictly enforced the outdoor portion of the food code. In an effort to protect the health and safety of dining patrons, we are revisiting the Code and associated policies related to this issue," the updated post read.
Nevertheless, a number of restaurants and beer gardens in Delaware have billed themselves as "pet-friendly" and dogs are frequently seen at a number of establishments.
Mike Marasco, owner of the Tre Sorelle Dolce ice cream shop in Wyoming, Del., welcomed word of a potential change in state law that ensure food establishments can host dog owners in outdoor areas like the patio outside his own business.
"Especially for a walk up situation like ours," he said. "I could understand maybe an indoor dining room or walk up window inside or whatever.
