Ordinary Gweilo

Interesting idea of the week (from the In Brief section of today’s Sunday Morning Post):

Dog-friendly eateries wanted

Hong Kong cannot claim to be an international city until dogs are allowed to join their owners at the restaurant table, Pets Central Asia said. The organisation began a campaign after being refused a licence for a dog-friendly restaurant. Chairman Peter de Krassel said Hongkongers could take birds, cats and other animals into restaurants but not dogs.

This important story was also covered in the SCMP on Friday (subscription required):

Who says there’s no discrimination in Hong Kong? Not Peter de Krassel. The chairman of Pets Central (Asia) thinks the government is treating dogs like second-class animal citizens.

The group runs a clinic in North Point’s Provident Centre, the first pet-friendly mall in the city, and since October they have also opened in the adjoining space a Pet Cafe serving light nibbles for people and animals.

The group applied to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for a proper cafe licence but their application was formally rejected last month.

The department’s objection was that pets at the adjoining clinic might carry infectious diseases, fleas, parasites, etc. However, when de Krassel and managing director Pauline Taylor looked closer at the rules, they discovered the rejection came only as a result of anti-canine bias.

“Under the regulations, the only animal that is not allowed in an area where food is served is dogs,” de Krassel said. “In other words, every other animal would be okay. We can have birds there, civet cats and all other animals that can bring Sars, but dogs, the safest animals, are arbitrarily rejected.

“Since we’ve opened the cafe, we have not had one complaint from the landlord, tenants or anyone.”

It is doggie discrimination, doggone it! So the clinic and cafe have started a petition and are planning a press conference tomorrow to inform the media of their plight. Good luck.

Words fail me…