A popular dog bar in Tampa is shutting down after owners said a court ruled in favor of the Florida Department of Health following years of legal battles. Pups Pub, which has locations in Orlando and Tampa, announced it will have its farewell party on Saturday before it closes for good. The issues for the bar are rooted in mixed interpretations of Florida's food hygiene code. According to the bar's owners, a health official in 2022 "reversed the department's interpretation" of a law allowing dogs inside the bar. But in 2023, a judge ruled in favor of Pups Pub, stating that health officials didn't evenly apply a rule to the dog bar after previously allowing the establishment to have dogs inside. The health department appealed the ruling in 2024, arguing Pups Pub violates the state's food hygiene code by allowing dogs inside an establishment that serves drinks. A judge sided with the health department a few weeks ago in a ruling Pups Pub called an "unjust reversal." For years, the owners operated under the impression that they were allowed to operate because they weren't doing food service, but the health department argued that beverages and ice constitute food. Pups Pub staff argues that the health department is changing its interpretation of the law and that the law is unclear. "The appellate court never disputed that Pups Pub was fully approved, operated legally, and that the FDOH changed the rules after the fact," the post read. "Instead, they turned a blind eye to the injustice and hid behind legal semantics- leaving small businesses like ours to pay the price." The owners said they "lost everything in this fight," spending thousands in taxes, fees and loans. They also mentioned they lost their "best friend and co-founder Trevor." Trevor Tackett was killed in February in a plane crash in the Philippines. He was a defense contractor on a surveillance mission when the plane crashed in a rice field, also killing three others. Tackett established the Pups Pub Veterans program to help veterans transition into business ownership through franchising, according to the post. The owners wrote that two franchisees from this program had plans to open later this year. The farewell party at Pups Pub will be from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 7. "We’d love for all our friends—two-legged and four-legged—to come by, share some memories, and help us say goodbye," a Facebook post read.