UPPER WEST SIDE — The Health Department has scratched a plan to force restaurant workers to check the dog licenses and vaccination papers of all patrons dining with their pooches.
Back in October, the State Department passed the “Dining with Dogs” law, which allowed dogs to legally dine with their owners in certain outdoor areas of restaurants, something that had been technically prohibited previously even though many eateries allowed it.
Now, instead of requiring waitstaff to check a dog's health records, restaurants only need to post a sign telling patrons that all dogs must be licensed and vaccinated against rabies, as per New York City law.
“I’m so pleased that the City Department of Health threw dog lovers a bone. These proposed regulations are common sense measures designed to protect the public health while allowing New Yorkers to dine with their dogs,” Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, who sponsored the bill, said.
The regulations also require restaurants to use barriers, fences, or other methods to limit contact between the dogs in outdoor restaurant spaces with people walking by.
The law and the new regulations currently apply only to canines, not to cats or other pets.