Dog Friendly Bars Win Their Case Against Florida Health

Two Florida dog friendly bars, Pups Pub Tampa and Pups Pub Orlando, won their legal battle against the Florida Department of Health in June 2023 when an administrative law judge ruled the state could not enforce its ban on dogs at the establishments.

In a 29 page order, the judge found the department improperly changed its interpretation of sanitation rules without going through the required rulemaking process.

Evidence showed county health departments had interpreted the rule for more than four years to allow dogs in bars with certain restrictions before the state abruptly reversed course in mid 2022.

Pups Pub Tampa, which received its sanitation certificate in December 2020, was cited in June 2022, and Pups Pub Orlando was cited in August 2022 within a month of opening.

Both businesses had complied with county health department directions, installing gates that separate dogs from beverage preparation areas.

The order directed the Department of Health to immediately discontinue reliance on its revised interpretation, a significant win for Florida's pet friendly hospitality industry, though the state subsequently appealed the decision.

Florida's dog bars won their case in 2023 and lost the war by 2025. Judge Lynne Quimby-Pennock's 29 page order blocked a ban the state began enforcing in mid 2022, after county inspectors had allowed dogs inside for over four years. On April 30, 2025, the First District Court of Appeal reversed, holding the prohibition reads plainly from existing sanitation law, so no rulemaking was ever required the court's opinion. Weeks later Pups Pub shut its Tampa bar, warning that more than a dozen other dog bars expect to close, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported. Watch the owners' open air replacements in Brandon and Clermont: if drinkers accept patios instead of playrooms, the model survives.