Is Bonita ready to go to the dogs?

Patty DeMauro, owner of the clothing store Signatures at the Promenade at Bonita Bay, brings her dog Piccolo to work, but cannot bring her to lunch.

That may change. A new law signed by Gov. Jeb Bush allows local governments to decide whether dogs can be allowed to dine outside at restaurants.

Previously, state health regulations gave that right only to service animals. However, many restaurant owners and managers ignored the law until health department inspectors threatened to fine Orlando restaurants.

Even if she could, DeMauro said she probably wouldn’t dine out with her dog. Once when she was at McCabe’s Irish Pub and Grill in Naples, a dog tried to chase every bird that flew by the table.

At the Silver Spoon Cafe at the Promenade, Manager Dave Erlacher confirmed that the shopping plaza doesn’t allow dogs, though exceptions have been made.

“We’ve had dogs on the patio, but we don’t encourage people to bring them,” he said. “But ever since Paris Hilton, Chihuahuas, shih tzus and Yorkies have become more popular.”

Nancy Keefer, president of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, said only a few Bonita Springs restaurants have outdoor seating. Residents will have to wait to see whether their local government approves the measure.

Even if the Bonita Springs City Council does, she said, she wouldn’t bring her dogs to dinner.

“I want to enjoy my dinner and have a conversation,” she said, a difficult task while monitoring dogs.

An estimated 43.5 million American households have dogs, compared with 33 million a decade ago, according to the nonprofit American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. The organization estimated that pet owners will spend $38.4 billion on their pets in 2006.

Naples’ first dogs, Sandra Dee and Emily Post, will not dine at Yabba anytime soon.

Mayor Bill Barnett said Naples isn’t ready for a law that would allow dogs to dine alfresco with their owners. Besides, the mayor said, his bulldogs would beg from every table.

“I have mixed feelings,” Barnett said.

While the dog-loving mayor sees the potential in the change, he said the state law doesn’t mean Naples dogs can now dine with their owners.

“When the city is ready to wrestle with it, there will be several options,” Barnett said. “Everything you can think of will be deliberated and debated.”

Many Naples restaurants allow dogs to dine in outdoor seating areas. Some managers didn’t know the law forbade it. Those who knew about the previous law said they didn’t know the consequences.

Meg Shannon, communications director for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, said inspectors can fine restaurants a maximum of $1,000 for second offenses. If inspectors see a dog eating on a restaurant’s patio, they can give the restaurant’s operator a citation along with time to correct it.

German shepherds and all other dogs are strictly verboten in Naples at Tommy Bahama on Third Street South, where company policy dictates that diners cannot bring their dogs on the patio. General Manager Stu Dickson said the company based the policy on the law.

“We’d love to have dogs out if we could, but as it stands now, we’re not going to change the policy,” he said.

Dickson added, however, that the issue might come up at a general managers’ meeting June 12.

Restaurants on Fifth Avenue South in Naples have taken a different tact, and several managers said dogs have dined there for years.

Jim Roth, manager at McCabe’s pub at 699 Fifth Ave. S., described the restaurant as family- and dog-friendly. He said every night at McCabe’s is at least a three-dog night.

“I guess it’s against the law, but everybody brings their dogs to the plaza,” he said. “Inside the restaurant is different.”

At Vergina, at 700 Fifth Ave. S., Manager Romi Santacrose said dogs have dined with their owners on the patio and he has never received a complaint.

“If someone brings a German shepherd, it’s intimidating,” he said. “But if it’s a 2-pound dog and it’s well-behaved, that’s a different story.”

He admits dogs can distract customers from their dining experience.

“Our job is to create an environment where everyone is comfortable,” he said.

Hildy Liee, 48, and Mike Liee, 50, said they would take their Maltese Georgie out to eat, if it were legal. Naples restaurants should allow dogs, they said, as they do in Europe. Hildy Liee added that Naples residents in particular pamper their pooches.

“They become the children when your children leave the nest,” she said.

At McCabe’s, people order hamburgers and hot dogs for their pets and the wait staff sets out water bowls. The new law could start a trend of offering tasty treats for dogs.

If local governments decide to allow pets, area restaurant owners will have to decide whether to capitalize on this growing market.