Can anyone recommend some restaurants for lunch and dinner that have outdoor seating that we could bring our small dog. This would be in Richmond, Va. Thanks for any advice.

Try either dogfriendly.com or petswelcome.com.

you may want to consider moving to South Beach in Miami. We took our dog almost everywhere. Because almost every place has outside seating.

Best place we ever found for eating in the USA with our dogs is far away from you......in Bellingham Washington. Not only was the restuarant fine with us eating on the patio area with our dogs they brought us waterbowls for them and when I complimented the waitress at the end of the meal and said it was just as nice as being at home I jokingly said "except the dogs can't lick our plates now that we are finished" and she said "why not? It's fine with us if they do" I asked if she was sure and she said absolutely so down on the ground all the plates went and all 4 dogs got to lick them clean before they went into the dishwasher. What a relaxing restuarant (good food too) and how Belingham them are.

How utterly gross.

Nothing better than having a dog lick your plate right after he's licked his butt.

Howard: Can you provide the name of that restaurant, please?

Good question, Health Inspector. But I think Howard could do all of us a favor by revealing the name, so we know what to avoid when in Bellingham.

Don't get me started about people and their dogs.

LOL< this is funny>
Same goes for those people who let their dogs lick their faces!

Anyone ever try taking their cat to a restaurant?)

Never took a cat but when we were in a restaurant in Venice several cats came in through an open window and walked around the restaurant, looking for scraps. No one else seemed to think it was odd so I figured it must be a common occurence.

Cats in restaurants are commonplace in the Caribbean. As are ducks, chickens....

we don't do that in the north

Oh, get over it people. I have less problem with a dog licking a plate than I do with the thought of the mouths the silverware has been into!