Pet dogs no problem, say cafe owners

Dogs are welcome at many cafes in Napier, with one restaurateur saying little children can cause more of a problem.

Dogs enjoying a rest, or the occasional bowl of cooling water at a cafe while their owners sipped or dined, were not a major issue for three of the busiest central city cafes in Napier.

Over the past weeks, a string of texts and letters to Hawke's Bay Today have touched on the subject of people taking their pet dogs with them when visiting a cafe.

Several people said pets should not be allowed to be near people dining or drinking - while others said the pets they took to cafes, or had seen at cafes, were clearly well looked after and caused few issues.

"We get everything from labradors down to wee fellas like poodles and there have never been any problems at all," Adoro manager Paul Greaves said.

"In fact, some little kids make more mess."

Mr Greaves said that since moving along Hastings St to the corner of the old Post Office building, dog owners have actually had the benefit of having nearby small street-side trees to hitch their four-legged companions to. "Never been an issue," he said.

That was also the reaction from management at the Masonic Hotel.

"We have never had any issues and never had a complaint," a spokeswoman said.

There had been times when staff had even followed up a request from people for a bowl of water for their pet, although it was not something they actively encouraged.

That view was echoed by the crew at Ujazi Cafe in Tennyson St. "We have people call by quite regularly with their dogs and it has never been an issue. The dogs are well cared for and well looked after," the manager said.

Napier City Council regulatory services manager Mike Webster said there were no bylaws banning dogs from sitting with their owners outside a cafe or restaurant.

"But they are not allowed inside - they are not allowed into food premises."

He said the only exceptions were seeing-eye dogs - "or any disability assisting dog".

Mr Webster said feedback he had received was that dogs with their owners seated outside were generally well behaved and there were "no problems".

He said it was up to the individual cafe or restaurant owners whether they would allow people to drink or dine with a dog in tow.

In terms of health issues birds posed the main concern, Mr Webster said. They often carried diseases and when encouraged by diners throwing scraps to them could create a major clean-up for staff.