Dogs in Restaurants

Many Americans are aghast on their first trip to Europe when they discover dogs in a restaurant, café or tea room. At least in France, Germany and Switzerland it's common.

Sherlock goes with us more than not. At the tea room Mille et Une where we'll have a second morning tea or hot chocolate, he's often part of a doggy conference. 

There are three other dogs who are regulars, especially Nelson (no relation), a black French bulldog. Nelson, like the other regulars, knows that Rick has doggy treats and comes over to let us know his mouth is ready and willing to accept what we offer. 

Depending on the dog, they may be off leash, asleep under the table, or checking out their friends, two- or four-legged.

L'Aurea-B at the end of our street is owned by Cedric. Not only does he know we want Coca Zero with most of our lunches, he always has a plate of sausage and/or cheese for Sherlock. When we walk by, Sherlock wants to greet Cedric who then heads to the kitchen to find a treat for our dog. 

Along the French Autoroute from Perpignan to Geneva, a route we take regularly, most of the rest stops do not allow dogs. However, when a new rest stop is built with elaborate food courts, dogs seem to be welcomed.

In some restaurants Rick will order something he likes to share with Sherlock. In others we order something for our dog. Before it was sold, Sherlock enjoyed the children's menu at Flowers. We ate his fries and his ice cream dessert that came with his meal.

Once at the Bureau, which is like a Scottish pub, we ordered a hamburg patty for our dog. The waitress. who was bilingual, switched to English: "Are you serious?" Since we've seen other dogs in there, we were probably the only one that requested a dog meal.  

We often eat out rather than take time out from our writing to cook and clean up. It is nice to do it as a "multi-species family."                    

I see little difference between cooking a meal with a dog at my feet who will follow me to sit by the table than having a dog(s) in a restaurant. In our village there are many restaurants all within a short walk of our front door. After we eat, we can multi-task by combining our meal with a dog walk. Sherlock has yet to object.