Nancy Stevens and her service dog Abby walk into McKay Cottage Restaurant, followed by her friend Albert DiLuzio and his service dog, Sable, during a lunch date in Bend in 2018. Service animals are always allowed in restaurants, but new rules around dining with dogs outdoors make patios acceptable spaces for canine companions. 

As the weather warms up, dining outside with Fido is going to be more tempting.

But there are rules and distinctions made between service animals, pets and emotional support animals.

And it’s tricky for businesses, not just restaurants, said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO and president. Owners and their employees have to develop policies if they want to be dog friendly or not.

“If someone brings their pet into a shop and the owner has a small space or there’s food preparation going on, it’s tough here,” Brooks said. “Not everyone is keen with having a dog in the store. It puts the onus on the shop owner or person working there to decide.

“People feel strongly about their pets.”

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Service animals are allowed indoors to accompany someone with a disability in restaurants or bars. But, the animal must be housebroken and be under control of the owner, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law governing disability access and service animals. Emotional support animals are not covered by the act.

When entering a business with an animal only two questions can be asked:

• Is the animal required because of a disability?

• What work or task does the animal perform or is trained to do?

And only dogs and miniature horses are considered service animals, said Greg Astley, Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association director of government affairs.

But that’s not to say some people haven’t tried to pass off other kinds of pets as service animals, Astley said. He’s heard of people bringing ferrets, peacocks, squirrels, monkeys and cats and claiming they’re service animals.

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“We get a lot of questions around this topic,” Astley said. “Many don’t know the difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal. Definitely in Central Oregon, where people are more outdoors and their dogs are outdoors with them, it’s something to talk about.”

Just in time for summer, the federal Food and Drug Administration cleaned up its language over allowing pets and emotional support animals to dine with their owners, but outdoors.

“It’s kind of a hot topic,” said Eric Mone, Deschutes County Health Services environmental health supervisor. “There’s a lot of emotion with people and their animals and we try not to get in the middle, but fall on what the laws are.”

In Oregon there’s a food service law that clearly outlines dos and don’ts with pets, Mone said. Restaurants and bars must have a written procedures that include a diagram of the outdoor area designated as dog friendly, procedures requiring employees not to pet the pooches and to clean up animal waste immediately.

All pets must be on a leash and under control of the owner, Mone said.

For more information call the Deschutes County Health Services Environmental Health division at 541-317-3114.