WHY NO DOGS?

We love dogs at The Salty Dog and welcomed them when we opened in 1987. Lots of people came to see us and many of them brought their dogs. Life was good - or so it seemed. Dogs of all shapes and sizes accompanied their owners to lunch, dinner and happy hour. Along with the Poodles came German Shepherds, Dobermans, Labradors, and Golden Retrievers. On any given day there were a dozen (or more) dogs at The Salty Dog Cafe.

We quickly found out that if you allow several dogs of any variety in close proximity to each other, add children with cheeseburgers, throw in a margarita for the dog owners, then problems can occur. Owners would allow their dogs to lie in the walkways. Dogs ate off of forks and out of plates. Some dogs barked almost continuously. Others begged for food and stole hot dogs from little kids' hands. It would be no exaggeration to say that many of the dog owners failed to control their pets. So, ultimately the good dog owners suffered from the actions of the bad dog owners and we posted the No Dogs Allowed signs in 1989. Why? Because we feel that we have a responsibility to provide our customers with a clean, peaceful and safe place to dine. We do not feel that it is our responsibility to police the dog situation or to clean up after dogs. Nor do we want to referee dog fights and the chaos occurs when two dogs suddenly decide to attack each other in a crowded environment such as The Salty Dog Cafe. So, being fully aware of the consequences, we no longer wish to subject ourselves to the disruptions to our business, nor the liability.

In all fairness, our policy is not just limited to dogs, but extends to all animals, including pythons, cockatoos, and monkeys, all of which have accompanied their owners to The Salty Dog Cafe. And, without exception, these owners questioned our reasoning for not welcoming their companions to our restaurant. Which brings us to the heart of the matter.

The Salty Dog Cafe is first and foremost a restaurant. And as our advertisements state: a restaurant for humans. The reason that our No Dogs policy extends to our outside tables is because, in essence, our outside seating is part of our dining room. This outside dining area also includes the picnic tables. Our reasoning comes, in part, from the old adage there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners. And generically speaking, everyone loves dogs, but not everyone loves your dog. And while we sincerely apologize to the good dog owners, it's the bad dog owners who have backed us into this corner.

Over the past 30 years, we have received many letters, phone calls and personal contacts from dog owners who have questioned our position on dogs at The Salty Dog. Some have the opinion that since we are The Salty Dog Cafe, then we are somehow obligated to allow dogs. On the other hand, many of our customers are dog owners and they understand and support our policy.

In closing, we doubt that we will change our policy anytime soon. We're sorry. We tried to make it work, but to no avail. So, we will continue to try and do the best job we can in operating a restaurant for humans.

As a side note Jake, the original Salty Dog, was adopted from our local shelter in the early 80's. In appreciation, we have continuously shown our support to Hilton Head Humane for the past 32 years and Salty Dog is proud to have contributed upwards of $250,000 to their organization in that time.

There are several signs stating our policy.