Kelowna’s dog themed brew pub wants to bring Fido indoors

Unleashed Brewing Co. created what may be the only craft brewery anywhere that is dog-themed when it opened in Kelowna’s Brewery District last spring.

It holds “Paint Your Pet” nights, supports dog-related groups, sells Unleashed merchandise, brings in live entertainment and invites customers to bring their dogs to their patio.

Now it has won support from Kelowna City Council for an application it plans to file to the Ministry of Health to allow dogs into their tap room.

“The reason we’re doing this is because we don’t have a kitchen, so we’re not prepping food,” co-owner Ashton Sykes told iNFOnews.ca. “We’re not handling food. We’re not cooking food or storing food. The only thing that we have that we’re storing is prepackaged snacks.”

They brewery has posted a form (which is not currently active) on its website inviting support and, on Feb. 28, Kelowna city council passed a motion to write a letter of support, which Sykes received last week.

There are plenty of pubs in Alberta, Ontario and the U.S. that allow dogs indoors, Sykes said, but it’s against the rules in B.C.

“You go to the U.K., you can have your dog inside and have a four-course meal,” he said. “We’re behind the times.”

There are safety benefits to allowing dogs indoors, Sykes argued.

“We are trying to get the dogs inside because, even if you’ve got a dog on the patio – and this is where we’re trying to bring some awareness – if it’s 30 degrees outside, you might be comfortable sitting on that patio but that dog might not be,” Sykes said. “It’s not just about your ability to come in and enjoy your beer with your dog but also for the safety of the dog in the summertime. We don’t want people leaving their dogs in their cars in the summer, or in the winter.”

Go here for more information on dogs in the pub.

READ MORE: Kelowna’s North End brewery district is going to the dogs

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