Apparently my column this week has been hijacked by my 10-month-old Chihuahua puppy. Fernando is the fourth dog I’ve been fortunate enough to live with and he is my second Chihuahua. He’s a real little pistol, a true clown, yet very smart. Obviously, as he is the only dog who has been able to access my laptop, iPhone and the new Kindle.

Which has just downloaded a mystery book ... written by a dog. So, I guess some dogs do write.

Hello, my name is Fernando. I am an adorable Chihuahua young man. They call me a puppy, a baby, a juvenile, yet I think I am very mature. And sophisticated. And . . . SQUIRREL!

Sorry, I’m back now.

Anyway, I want to take this opportunity to say how happy I am about the new Paws on Patios variance that allows restaurants to apply for a permit to make their patios dog friendly. Ziggy’s Bar & Grill was the first to get the permit and even the mayor dined there with Lucy, the dog that Mom says was responsible for this great dog law.

I have never been to a restaurant patio but I really want to go. I know Mom writes about restaurants and sometimes she brings home delicious food from them that she sometimes lets me taste. But I would truly love to go with her. I think it would be great fun and I would behave myself. Really.

I heard Mom say that Maeve Pesquera, who lives in California now, sees people bring dogs to restaurants there all the time. They carry them in purses, if you can believe that!

But so far, only Ziggy’s, can legally have dogs on their patio in Houston. Oh, and I heard that Little Bigs, which I understand is a really cool slider joint in Montrose with a tree shaded patio, has applied. (I know this because Mom called the city health department to find out who has applied so far.)

There are several places where dogs gather on patios all the time. I found this photo of a dog bar (a watering bowl) on Mom’s iPhone. She says it’s from a restaurant where they allow dogs but they don’t have a permit and she won’t take me there until they get one.

So I want to take this space to urge more restaurants to join the Paws on Patios movement. Mom recently wrote about some of her favorite restaurant patios, I would like to go to some of them. But I also have some other places I’ve read about on the Internet (what, you think YOUR dog isn’t Googling food on your laptop when you’re not looking?) so I’m going to list them here in hopes that they will get the permit and the cool little sign and city decal that declares them dog friendly.

The Grove
I’ve read about this place and I really want go there. Mom says they used to let dogs hang on the patio but someone complained and they had to post No Dog signs. Which is just wrong since the restaurant is in the middle of a park with an off-leash dog run!

Come on, please get a permit so I can come visit and enjoy Discovery Green park downtown. Woof, woof!

Beaver’s Ice House
This place in the Heights used to have yappy hour parties. I hear they have great barbecue, cool fried oyster nachos and some serious cocktails. I want to go and party on the patio with other pups! Bring back yappy hour, please.

Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino
Mom is enthralled with the pasta here and something called a granita, which gets her kinda hyper. I think it’s a frozen espresso, but what do I know? Anyway, chef/owner Lynette Hawkins is really sweet and named her restaurant after her dog.

She told Mom she’s going to get a permit as soon as she gets an outside gate to her patio, which is one of the requirements. Frankly, I can’t wait, maybe I’ll get to meet Giacomo there.

Tila’s Restaurant & Bar
Actually, any Tex-Mex place where Mom and Grandpa like to eat should join the cause because I love a little taste of chicken fajitas (I am a Chihuahua after all) but this place actually used to advertise its patio as dog friendly, before the dog police started cracking down. So let’s get a permit and start advertising again.

In fact, all restaurants that want to encourage well-behaved pets and get on all those pet friendly databases and take in some pet tourism dollars should get a permit and start advertising. Houston is a pretty cool city but we need to be more like those places in California, Florida and Austin where pooches are welcome. I promise to behave and follow the rules and I bet most of the other dogs will, too.

So let’s get rolling restaurants. Apply for those permits. Just download a form here.

Basically you just have to have an outdoor entrance to your patio so I don’t have to walk through the restaurant interior, and you have to have some basic cleaning stuff in case any of us dogs have an accident (not me, I’m far too well-behaved to do that!). Oh, and waiters aren’t allowed to pet me or feed me and I can’t put my paws on the table.

But it’s really pretty easy, just send in the form and pay a one-time inspection fee of $110 and I’ll be there. But f you don’t want me to come that’s cool, too. I’ll just have to eat the leftovers Mom brings home. Nom, nom.