Victory for the Dogs!

As you know if you have been reading my blog (which according to my stats on Austin Bloggers You HAVE NOT!!) I am very interested in the outcome of the initiative to change the current city health department rule that dogs are not allowed on the patios of restaurants or bars in Austin. Well the city council met yesterday and voted 6-1 to allow local restaurants in Austin to decide if they will allow dogs on their patios!!! HURRAH!!!
The only dissenting vote was council member Danny Thomas. He said he "can't support the dogs"??? I have a feeling I won't be voting for him next time around! Anyway, the new measure will take effect in 10 days. Of course there are some stipulations like: the dogs have to be on a leash (ok we can live with that). The dogs cannot sit in chairs (reasonable enough) or get on tables or on countertops (???). I am not sure what kind of owner will put their pooch on the table or countertops but I guess there are a few out there. Restaurants who allow dogs on their patios will not be able to cook or prepare food in their outdoor areas.
The restaurants will be posting a sign if they do or do not allow owners to bring their pets onto their patios. The City Health inspectors will no longer deduct a point from their health inspections of restaurants who allow dogs, as long as they follow the rules. Yes!!
Two people showed up to speak to the council in opposition of the proposal noting that it is unfair for restaurants to have to clean up after dogs on their patios (that is why it is up to the individual restaurants get to decide) and that they were leery of wait persons petting dogs then handling their utensils (better that than having them cough and sneeze all over their hands and then handle utensils!).
A BIG THANK YOU TO Council Members Jennifer Kim and Lee Leffingwell for initiating and supporting this measure! Austin can now redeem some of it's laid back, easy going status that it was always known for.