It’s the height of summer, and the city’s restaurants are thronged with people and increasingly, their dogs.
New York City Department of Health regulations don’t permit dogs — other than accredited service dogs — inside restaurants, and strictly speaking this includes any food service area. But many restaurants are a little more relaxed about their outdoor spaces, and are allowing diners to bring pets.
Armanda Squadrilli takes her three-legged Australian Cattle Dog rescue, “Friday,” with her everywhere, including her local West Village bistro.
“I’ll call up and I’ll say I’m coming and I have my reserved table, my dedicated table I should say, and Friday comes along, and he’ll either sit at my feet, or, I bring him in a baby carriage, because then he’s more at sitting level, and it’s easier for him.”
Squadrilli notes that dog diners have formed their own community. "The people are regulars, and their dogs are regulars,” she said. (You can hear more about Armanda and Friday above.)
Joel Grodin manages the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and said that the restaurant’s dog-friendliness is a response to the character of the neighborhood.
“New Yorkers love their dogs, many of our staff has and love dogs, and this evolved into a feeling that the restaurant should look after its canine, as well as human friends.”
A fresh bowl of water is always on hand outside Cowgirl’s street-side perimeter.
Armanda Squadrilli said she wouldn’t dine at a restaurant that didn’t allow her to bring Friday, and she said her dog has good "table manners."
“Dogs are very much routine animals, they just lie down, they know what to do. They don’t bother other people, they don’t bother other owners, they don’t try to eat from the table, they are just there as part of the family and part of the community,” she said.
Here are some images of dogs dinning in the city.
