Pub chain bans dogs (even in beer gardens)

DOGS will be banned from one of the country’s biggest pub chains from today. Wetherspoons has technically had a policy of not allowing pets since it was founded in 1979.

Now boss Tim Martin has decided the ban should be strictly imposed at the nearly 1,000 pubs in his chain. Assistance dogs will still be permitted. Wetherspoons said that ‘while we are fond of dogs’ it was enforcing the ban ‘after much consultation’.

Previously, a few of its pubs had allowed dogs on a lead into beer gardens or other external areas.

‘Even well behaved dogs can be unpredictable,’ said Wetherspoons spokesman Eddie Gershon. ‘We serve a lot of food. We welcome a lot of children and families, and younger children in particular can be unpredictable around dogs – and many are scared of dogs.

However guide dogs will still be allowed, Wetherspoons says – although owners are advised to bring along documentation to ‘explain the dog’s purpose’.