Pet power: Some businesses open to man’s best friend

It’s easy to deduce that Christy Howard will allow pets to come into her business.

Her store, Three Dog Bakery in Southlake, is devoted to dogs. There are bins of bones, a collection of collars and leashes, piles of pillowy dog beds. A small pack of large dogs — mastiffs, some are Howard’s and some are foster dogs she’s watching — spend their days behind the counters and banks of pastry cases, sometimes coming to rest a giant head on the counter by the cash register. Customers come in wagging their tails.

Even businesses that don’t cater specifically to dogs are opening their doors to man’s best friend. For a small amount of effort, businesses — primarily restaurants — can potentially make a big impact on how customers view them.

Coal Vine’s Southlake, in the same development as Three Dog Bakery, started welcoming dogs on its patio this spring, said Paul Patel, one of the partners of the restaurant. On Saturdays and Sundays, dogs are allowed on the patio during brunch hours, and Patel said the decision was driven by customer demand.

“I literally had women come to me saying, ‘Can I bring my dog and leave my spouse in the car?’” he said.

For those who want to bring their dogs, the restaurant staff seats them in one section of the L-shaped patio. The doors that open from the restaurant onto the patio are kept close to keep out any dog hair or dogs, Patel said, and the dog time is over promptly at 3 p.m. so that staff can sweep, mop and sanitize the patio before dinner.

Some of the people who take their dogs to Coal Vine’s are coming from Three Dog Bakery, and Howard’s store has its own special events to encourage clients and their canines to come together. On the second and third Thursday of the month, the bakery has Mutt Mixers with food and drinks for people and their pets, and Howard said the event took a little while to catch on.

“We were so upset because we didn’t open the door and a flood of people came in,” she said.

Now, though, the bakery has one of the most active social calendars of any Three Dog Bakery stores. (Howard’s is the only store in Texas, and she plans to open a second store just west of downtown Fort Worth in the near future.)

“Now it’s become our little cult following, and I don’t know what we’d do without it,” she said.

Julie Baker, a professor of marketing at Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business, said she isn’t aware of any research on dog-friendly business or using dogs as part of a marketing strategy. It could be that businesses see a way to reach out to Americans who increasingly view their pets as family members, she said, and some of the businesses that open up to dogs could be doing so because the owners are dog people themselves.

“I think it’s a very interesting thing to explore for a small retailer,” Baker said.

Smaller retailers can make independent choices about whether to allow dogs, and ordinances about dogs can vary from city to city. Baker said in other countries, though, like Europe, she’s noticed that people take their dogs with them in far more places.

For an independently-owned business or restaurant, there’s not too much to lose when it comes to trying out being dog-friendly, Baker said, because there’s little financial investment required.

“I would think it would be really easy for many of them . . . to try on a small scale and see what happens,” she said.

Christina Elbitar, who owns Chadra Mezza & Grill with her husband, Nehme, have two dogs themselves and opened the patio of their restaurant to other dogs on Wednesday nights for Pooches on the Patio. There’s a special wine list for patrons of this event, and the restaurant has held events that raise funds for various rescue or pet organizations.

“When people are sitting outside on their patio with their pets, it just breaks open conversation,” Elbitar said. “Everyone knows everyone and their pets — how often can you instantly have bond to next table immediately?”

Jason Smith, a local attorney and president of the Fort Worth Dog Park Association, which oversees the dog park Fort Woof, said most dog owners are on the lookout for places they can take their animals.

“I’m always looking for a place I can bring my dog, Supergirl,” Smith said. “If a restaurant or a business allows you to bring your dog, then I’m more likely to go to that business.”

Sometimes a business may offer an event that has more than just treats for dogs and a chance to put money toward a good cause. The Ginger Man Pub in Fort Worth allows dogs on its patio, and in early October it had a Dogtoberfest event benefiting Great Dane Rescue of North Texas. A veterinarian was on-site to do microchipping for dogs as well, said Michael Vallandingham, assistant manager.

Vallandingham noted that location can contribute toward successful dog policies.

“We’re surrounded by neighborhoods and a lot of people walk their dogs around here,” he said. “ . . . Every time someone’s up here with a dog, people notice and the word gets out.”

Elbitar echoed that sentiment, noting that townhome developments and other living space near Chadra Mezza has contributed to people (and their dogs) walking in. While patio seating is reliant on good weather — dog season may be slowing down — business owners are looking to next year. Howard, the Elbitars and the Ginger Man staff plan to continue offering socializing opportunities and fund-raising events, and Patel said this first year of opening to dogs has been successful and he plans to do more events next year.

If a business is on the fence about the dog issue, Patel said he’s never had any issues with dogs being badly behaved or leaving messes. Dogs that frequent businesses with their owners are accustomed to listening to their owners, he said, and he’d recommend that businesses give a dog-friendly policy a fair shake.

“I’d recommend it. If you can do it, do it,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a little more work, but in this kind of economy, if you have customers that want to bring their animals and want to bring their dogs in, why not? Let them.”