Urban Harvest’s Farmers Market on Eastside used to be a lot more fun.

Baby goats gamboled about in the springtime, the egg vendors brought boxes of chicks that children could hold in their tiny hands, and shoppers with strollers and dogs ambled amid the stalls.

Not anymore.

Now there’s a sign citing City of Houston Ordinance Section 20-189: “No live animals, birds or fowl shall be kept or allowed within 20 feet of any area where food is stored, displayed or held, excluding patrol dogs or support animals.”

But drive a few miles to the new Highland Village Farmers Market, and guess what? You’ll see dogs.

You’ll also spot dogs—and other animals—in close proximity to food at the rodeo, the recent dog day at Minute Maid Park and various posh pet soiree fund-raisers. And you can still find them at many restaurant and coffee shop patios, despite the city ordinance.

Dog dining was once hugely popular in Houston. Listed in national dog books, magazines and on international Web sites, many of the city’s restaurants, like Barnaby’s Café in River Oaks, were known as dog-friendly havens. On any sunny Sunday you’d find folks relaxing on patios with Rover at their feet. The people and their pups were everywhere. Sipping margaritas at Berryhill, lounging over coffee and scones at almost any Starbucks, even savoring a steak on the patio at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. Annabelle’s Diner on Taft even stocked plastic water dishes and dog biscuits for doggie diners.

But then, in 2006, someone complained. And suddenly “No dogs on patio” signs started cropping up. First it was Barnaby’s, then Beaver’s Ice House and the farmers market.

At Discovery Green, the downtown park where a leash-free dog run is just yards from The Grove, a sign warns patrons that no smoking — and no dogs — are allowed on the restaurant patio.

“It’s ridiculous,” says a bartender. “People play with their dogs in the park, and if they want to come sit on the patio and have a bite to eat, they have to tie the dog to the railing.”

In many European cities, dogs are commonly allowed inside restaurants. In 2006, the state of Florida passed legislation allowing pets on patios and just this year, Wake County in North Carolina ruled dining al Fido is OK on patios. When the Bulldog bar opened in Baton Rouge this month, it featured a special doggie menu for four-legged diners. Even Dallas passed an ordinance allowing restaurant owners to apply for a variance for puppy pals on patios this year. In Austin, it’s practically required to bring your dog to dinner, and the capital’s Paggi House serves thirsty pooches water in champagne buckets.

Here in Houston, you can still find lots of patios catering to dogs, despite the ordinance. From pub patios to coffee shop hangouts, canines are hanging around with humans. Unless someone protests.

“If someone calls and complains,” says Houston Health and Human Services Department’s Kathy Barton, “we have to investigate and enforce it.”

Barton says fines start at $50, but she adds the department doesn't get many complaints. Which may be why nothing has ever been done about the Houston ordinance.

“Nobody has ever asked for it to change,” Barton says.

If they did, it probably wouldn’t be hard. There are no federal or state laws banning dog dining outdoors. Not even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it's a health issue.

Just call your city council member and growl a little.