Dogs on Patios - San Marcos, Texas

Our Cause:

The City of San Marcos' new chief sanitarian has enforced the policy "Dining with Dogs" established in 2015, which results in persons not being able to bring their dogs to certain food establishments with a patio. This ordinance serves to maintain health and cleanliness, but we feel the ordinance is too restrictive on business owners and dog owners alike. Many dog owners have voiced their disappointment in not being allowed to bring their dogs to various San Marcos food establishments, and we would like to recreate the ordinance to simplify it's restrictions on local business owners. You can support our campaign of getting dogs back into patio establishments by signing the following petition. We are working with council members and city officials, but we need your voice to help push this petition through. To learn more about this ordinance, you can visit City of San Marcos - Dining with Dogs. To learn more about our movement to change this ordinance, please visit Dogs on Patios - San Marcos, Tx

**Note: We feel all dogs should be well behaved in public area, on a leash, and have current rabies/vaccination tags.**

Our Proposed Solution:

We suggest that the City of San Marcos duplicates Austin's current Ordinance for Dogs Permitted in Outdoor Dining Areas

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10-3-124 - DOGS PERMITTED IN OUTDOOR DINING AREAS

A food service enterprise may permit a customer to be accompanied by a dog in an outdoor dining area if:

1) the food service enterprise posts a sign in a conspicuous location stating that dogs are allowed in the outdoor dining area;

2) the customer and the dog access the outdoor dining area directly from the exterior of the food service enterprise;

3) the dog does not enter the interior of the food service enterprise;

4) the customer keeps the dog on a leash and controls the dog;

5) the customer does not allow the dog on a seat, table, countertop, or similar surface; and

6) in the outdoor dining area, the food service enterprise does not:

a) prepare food; or

b) permit open food, except for food that is being served to a customer.

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By signing this petition, you are in support of our Campaign/Proposed Solution in changing the City of San Marcos' Dining with Dogs Ordinance.