Not all restaurants are dog-friendly, but several eateries around Santa Monica with an outdoor patio allow customers to bring dogs. Here are some of the tips, and city regulations, for dining with your dog in Santa Monica.

You Can Only Dine In An Outdoor Seating Area

As long as the restaurant’s management allows customers to bring dogs along, you can take your dog to accompany you - provided there is an outdoor patio area. Some of the requirements to be met include:

• Ensuring that your pup is on a leash. This helps prevent the dog from bothering other patrons or getting in the way of the waiters.
• Providing dog food and water in a separate bowl.
• Ensuring there is proper pet waste management.

The restaurant management can include signage demonstrating that the restaurant is dog or pet-friendly. Dogs are typically not allowed inside restaurants unless they are service animals.

Management Can Prohibit Dogs in their Restaurants

The restaurant owner or the management may use their discretion to prohibit or allow their customers to bring dogs to the restaurant. If you bring your dog to a restaurant where dogs are not permitted, the restaurant can deny you service and ask you to leave.

Can I Bring My Service Animal To Eat With Me?

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people living with disabilities can take their dogs to areas of public accommodation. However, the service animal has to be under control. This means that you might have to harness, tether, or leash the animal unless the devices interfere with the animal's duties. If the leash interferes with the animal's duties, you can use signals and voice to control the animal.

To avoid claims of discrimination, management must refrain from:

• Asking about your disability
• Requesting medical documentation
• Requesting for dog identification or training documentation
• Questioning about the dog's ability to perform the task assigned.

Emotional Support Animals (ESA) are not treated as service animals. Since they are not service animals, you cannot bring an ESA to a restaurant where dogs are prohibited.

Under normal circumstances, the restaurant owner cannot ask you to leave. Also, the comments from other guests who fear dogs may not be a valid reason to deny you services or ask you to leave. However, the restaurant owner may ask you to leave if your dog is out of control or creates a mess.

Schedule a Consultation with a Santa Monica Dog Bite Attorney

Although dogs are allowed to visit dome restaurants with outdoor patios, dog owners are ultimately responsible for their actions. If a dog bites you in a restaurant in Santa Monica, you may have a claim against the dog’s owner for compensation. To learn more about your rights to recovery, schedule a consultation with us by filling out our online contact form.