Should dogs be allowed at Traverse City’s outdoor restaurant patios? Though restaurants are not allowed to admit pets (other than service animals), that could change if a bill co-sponsored by TC’s State Senator Wayne Schmidt passes the legislature.

The bill would allow local units of government the flexibility to allow dogs at outdoor patios. If approved by the authorities, the final decision would still rest with individual restaurant owners. That’s a key, according to Schmidt.

“It’s a permission bill, not a mandate,” he says of the proposed legislation, which is awaiting disposition to the state House of Representatives. It originated with then-State Representative Margaret O’Brien. When she was elected to the Senate, she brought the bill with her, and Schmidt signed on as co-sponsor.

Despite the state law banning canines, DogFriendly.com lists numerous restaurants around the state which allow dogs on their outdoor decks or patios (only Oryana Natural Foods is listed locally).

Restaurateur Jon Carlson found out about the issue firsthand when opening The Shed Beer Garden behind the Blue Tractor in TC. As it is an outdoor patio served by a food truck and a beer truck, he thought it would be fun to allow people to stop in while they were out walking their pet. Then he talked to the authorities.

“When we were building out the Shed, we asked the county health inspector. He said definitely not. The way the law is written, you can’t have dogs at a restaurant,” says Carlson. Not even one with outdoor seating.

A recent Ticker Facebook posting about the proposed legislation got the masses barking: Many supported the idea of dogs being allowed to accompany their owners at outdoor cafés or patios, some pointing out that dogs are allowed at outdoor eateries in other states. Commenters citing objections referenced irresponsible pet owners, animals with bad behavior, and allergies.

For Tom Buss, the issue has more to do with safety than food contamination. The director of environmental health for Grand Traverse County, Buss notes that last year there were 173 cases of dog bites, up from 118 in 2014 and 132 in 2013. “Those are just the ones that are reported,” he adds.

This region’s reputation as a tourist haven helped convince Schmidt to sign onto the bill. “In northern Michigan where a lot of people travel with dogs, it (would be) an option,” he says. “We went to the Michigan Restaurant Association,” he said, which gave the bill its blessing as long as the decision was up to the individual restaurants.”

Schmidt is hoping the bill makes it through the House and then returns for a vote in the Senate. If approved, it would then await the governor’s signature to become law.

Buss adds that, though true restaurants can’t allow dogs on their premises even outdoors, the law is less clear at public outdoor areas where food is served. “That’s a gray area,” he says, referencing areas such as the Open Space or The Little Fleet, the local food truck haven. “At Cherry Festival people take their dogs, or at sidewalk cafés people can walk their dogs right through the tables. Situations like that are not cut and dried," he says.

Carlson says he wants all his patrons to be able to enjoy his outside restaurant, whether two-legged or four-legged. If someone was being bothered by a dog, he would ask the owners to take it away, “just like if you had a patron who was not well-behaved. Ninety-five to 99 percent of pets I ever see are better behaved than their owners,” he laughs.