A WalletHub report published in early August named Austin the 12th pet-friendly city in the United States, with specific praise for Texas’ capital city courtesy its health and wellness care access for animals and variety of outdoor recreation sites. It’s a culture Austin has leaned fully in on, particularly after a 2019 law passed by the Texas Legislature allowed restaurants to allow dogs in outdoor dining areas in specific scenarios.
That law, updating Texas’ Health and Safety Code, noted a food service establishment can allow dogs to accompany owners in an outdoor seating area under the following requirements:
The exception for those rules is if the dog is a service animal, which is allowed inside establishments as a working medical assistant to the customer. Here in Texas, businesses like H-E-B and Buc-ee’s have specifically prohibited non-service animals from entering the premises, but are limited as to how they can investigate and ask whether an animal is actually a service animal and not a pet.
Online, some Austinites have shared their frustrations with the lax culture surrounding dogs in public spaces, while others say it’s a feature that attracted them to the Texas capital. A TikTok posted by @antuitionlifecoac in mid-September called this exact phenomenon into question, with user Anthony Scalco taking the stance that “there’s a dog epidemic” happening in Austin.
“There is just no need for dogs to be in restaurants, to be in grocery stores, hotels,” he said. “Why are dogs near food? We do not need to be doing this.”
The video drew both support and drawback, with @p.s.itsren writing: “go literally anywhere else in Texas bc the dog friendliness is why I love Austin” while @lowkey.atx chimed in saying, “Agreed. It’s unsanitary. I don’t like when people bring their dogs into grocery stores and stores in general. I love Austin, and this is one of the few downsides.”