Dog owners begging for pet-friendly places to eat

TORONTO Something as simple as stopping for a drink on a patio or grabbing an ice cream cone during a summer stroll is a challenge for dog-lover Carola Rong.

A recent craving forced the 25-year-old Toronto medical student to get a stranger to hold her pup while she dashed inside for a treat. It was better than trying to sneak the dog into the shop, which she admits she’s done when grabbing a coffee at Starbucks.

“They’re not really happy with dogs inside,” Rong says with a grimace after retrieving her two-yearold French bulldog and sitting on an outdoor bench to enjoy her cone.

Rong and other Canadian dog owners are no doubt envious of the pooch-tolerant cultures that exist in many other parts of the world. Many of London’s famous pubs allow dogs inside, and in Paris, dogs routinely visit cafés, bakeries and even fine dining eateries, sans probleme.

Closer to home, new rules were recently enacted in New York City allowing bars and restaurants to legally welcome doggie diners onto their patios.

In Toronto, it’s a provincial law that puts Rong and other urban pet owners on a constant search for eateries with outdoor spaces enclosed by leash-friendly railings, so they can park their pal on the other side of a fence while they imbibe on a patio. It’s rare to find an establishment that has figured a way around the regulation — like the Williams Fresh Cafe near the waterfront, which only serves takeout but is adjacent to the Purina PawsWay museum, which has a pet-friendly seating area.