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soc_puppetHere are some questions and concerns to consider before you bring your ESA to a convention:
Is my pet allowed to be here?
Rules will vary from convention to convention, but it is important to check ahead of time, both with the convention itself and with the venues it is held at, whether Emotional Support Animals are allowed, and, if so, under what circumstances. [AnimeIowa 2018 will allow ESA's only with a note from a doctor.]
Am I allowed and/or is it safe for me to leave my animal in my hotel room unattended for long periods of time?
If you decide it's better for your pet to stay in your hotel room while you socialize at the convention, you need to be aware of how it will handle the time alone, such as whether it will have enough entertainment to keep it from becoming bored or anxious, and how and where it will relieve itself when you are gone. If you are unsure about the answer to these questions, it would be better to keep your animal at home.
What are my pet's physical needs?
Many animals, especially reptiles, amphibians, and fish, have specific physical and environmental needs that would be difficult to meet in a convention setting. Please consider if you can help your animal meet and maintain these needs for the entire time you have them with you; if your reptile is albino, for example, it may not do well with the bright lights of a convention setting, and would likely be better off staying either in your hotel room or at home.
Can my pet handle the stress of traveling to a convention?
Travel, be it short or long periods, can be very stressful for animals. Whether you are taking one long trip each way or are able to commute to the convention from home every day, you need to be aware of how your travel arrangements impact your animal's mental health, as well as how your animal reacts to stress. If your animal is stressed out from the trip, it is unlikely to be able to provide you with the support you need. If the amount of travel your convention experience involves is likely to stress your pet out, it would be safer to leave them at home.
Does my pet have any sensitivities or allergies?
It is difficult to control what other people wear at conventions, as elsewhere in life. If your pet has a sensitivity or allergy to a specific scent, or if they are likely to gobble up things that have been dropped on the ground, regardless of whether that item is food, it may be safer for them to stay in your hotel room or at home. Convention attendees wear all sorts of scents and body paints, and amphibians in particular may require an emergency vet trip if they come into contact with them.
In the event that my pet has a health emergency, is there a vet near the convention center that can treat them on short notice?
While there are lots of vets who can treat cats and dogs, a lot of other animals can be more difficult to find a doctor for. If your ESA is a reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, small mammal, or almost any animal that is not a cat or a dog, it would be good to find out if there's a vet who can treat them near the convention. No matter what your pet is, finding a vet available to provide emergency services during the convention may literally save their life. Finding a vet who will be able treat your pet before the convention itself can save valuable time. If you cannot find a vet near the convention who will be able to treat your pet in the event of a health emergency, it may be best to leave them at home.
Is my pet a social animal? Does it do well in crowds and new situations?
As much as your pet may love you, and as much as you may love your pet, it may not be mentally prepared to deal with the large, loud, and visually distracting crowds at conventions. Stress can greatly impact your animal's health, and being surrounded by strangers for long periods of time, many of whom may try to touch, handle, or pet it improperly can be very distressing for animals. If your animal is not used to dealing with crowds, it would probably be safer for them to stay in your hotel room or at home.
Even if your pet is used to large crowds similar to those found at conventions, it is important to pay close attention to their emotional state. If your pet is starting to show stress from being in convention spaces, it may be time for them to return to your hotel room or to go home.
What are my plans for when my pet needs to relieve itself?
It can be difficult to find locations for an animal to relieve itself in primarily human spaces. Even locations that are prepared to handle service dogs or horses may not have areas for birds, reptiles, or smaller mammals.
Is my pet a flight risk, and/or is it possible to keep my pet on a lead?
It is important to be able to keep your pet on a lead when they are in convention spaces. If you lose control of them or lose them entirely, it can be dangerous for them to wander unattended. Dogs and cats may be found and turned in to shelters, dogs may be reported to animal control as hazards, and any other animal runs the risk of either being unrecognized as a pet or of ending up in a situation with someone who will not care for them properly. If you cannot keep a lead on your pet, it would be safer to keep them in your hotel room or leave them at home.
How does my pet react to or interact with other animals?
If your animal is not well socialized and well behaved with other animals, it may be a safety risk not just for your animal, but for others'. If your animal has a high prey drive, if it is aggressive to other animals or to humans, or if it poses a health or safety risk to other animals, it would be better if they stayed in your hotel room or at home.
If your pet is likely to interfere with a Service Animal doing its job, it is important that they stay in your hotel room or at home. While Emotional Support Animals provide real and valuable help to the people who have them, many Service Animals are trained to save their handler's life. If a human or another animal interferes with a Service Animal while they are working, it could result in their handler becoing seriously injured or dying. If your animal cannot leave Service Animals alone, then they need to stay out of convention spaces.
How will my pet cause other people to react?
If your ESA is an insect or other invertebrate, a skunk (de-scented or intact), a mouse or rat, or any other animal that commonly triggers phobias or extreme negative responses, it would be safer to keep them in your hotel room or at home.
Does my pet commonly cause allergic reactions?
While larger convention spaces may allow enough air flow to prevent a severe allergic reaction, smaller areas such as board rooms (commonly used to host panels and video viewing) will not. In addition, immune-disordered attendees and convention and venue staff will have already been made further vulnerable by the presence of large groups of people, not all of whom are considerate enough to wash their hands after using the restroom. If your animal produces a common allergen, it would be better to keep them in your hotel room or at home.
[I've gotten everything I can think of here, but I'm not an expert. If you can think of anything to add, or find anything that needs to be corrected, please let me know so I can update this!]
Edit: Things to add:
* Consider human energy levels
* What's your plan for if you, the human, have to leave the convention without your animal (such as to go to the hospital)?
* Not all hotels will allow you to leave animals unattended in your hotel room, service animals and ESA's alike.
Edit 2: Hat tip to![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
service-doodle-equinox:
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
And the specific item;
"Q29. Are hotel guests allowed to leave their service animals in their hotel room when they leave the hotel?
A. No, the dog must be under the handler's control at all times."
Is my pet allowed to be here?
Rules will vary from convention to convention, but it is important to check ahead of time, both with the convention itself and with the venues it is held at, whether Emotional Support Animals are allowed, and, if so, under what circumstances. [AnimeIowa 2018 will allow ESA's only with a note from a doctor.]
Am I allowed and/or is it safe for me to leave my animal in my hotel room unattended for long periods of time?
If you decide it's better for your pet to stay in your hotel room while you socialize at the convention, you need to be aware of how it will handle the time alone, such as whether it will have enough entertainment to keep it from becoming bored or anxious, and how and where it will relieve itself when you are gone. If you are unsure about the answer to these questions, it would be better to keep your animal at home.
What are my pet's physical needs?
Many animals, especially reptiles, amphibians, and fish, have specific physical and environmental needs that would be difficult to meet in a convention setting. Please consider if you can help your animal meet and maintain these needs for the entire time you have them with you; if your reptile is albino, for example, it may not do well with the bright lights of a convention setting, and would likely be better off staying either in your hotel room or at home.
Can my pet handle the stress of traveling to a convention?
Travel, be it short or long periods, can be very stressful for animals. Whether you are taking one long trip each way or are able to commute to the convention from home every day, you need to be aware of how your travel arrangements impact your animal's mental health, as well as how your animal reacts to stress. If your animal is stressed out from the trip, it is unlikely to be able to provide you with the support you need. If the amount of travel your convention experience involves is likely to stress your pet out, it would be safer to leave them at home.
Does my pet have any sensitivities or allergies?
It is difficult to control what other people wear at conventions, as elsewhere in life. If your pet has a sensitivity or allergy to a specific scent, or if they are likely to gobble up things that have been dropped on the ground, regardless of whether that item is food, it may be safer for them to stay in your hotel room or at home. Convention attendees wear all sorts of scents and body paints, and amphibians in particular may require an emergency vet trip if they come into contact with them.
In the event that my pet has a health emergency, is there a vet near the convention center that can treat them on short notice?
While there are lots of vets who can treat cats and dogs, a lot of other animals can be more difficult to find a doctor for. If your ESA is a reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, small mammal, or almost any animal that is not a cat or a dog, it would be good to find out if there's a vet who can treat them near the convention. No matter what your pet is, finding a vet available to provide emergency services during the convention may literally save their life. Finding a vet who will be able treat your pet before the convention itself can save valuable time. If you cannot find a vet near the convention who will be able to treat your pet in the event of a health emergency, it may be best to leave them at home.
Is my pet a social animal? Does it do well in crowds and new situations?
As much as your pet may love you, and as much as you may love your pet, it may not be mentally prepared to deal with the large, loud, and visually distracting crowds at conventions. Stress can greatly impact your animal's health, and being surrounded by strangers for long periods of time, many of whom may try to touch, handle, or pet it improperly can be very distressing for animals. If your animal is not used to dealing with crowds, it would probably be safer for them to stay in your hotel room or at home.
Even if your pet is used to large crowds similar to those found at conventions, it is important to pay close attention to their emotional state. If your pet is starting to show stress from being in convention spaces, it may be time for them to return to your hotel room or to go home.
What are my plans for when my pet needs to relieve itself?
It can be difficult to find locations for an animal to relieve itself in primarily human spaces. Even locations that are prepared to handle service dogs or horses may not have areas for birds, reptiles, or smaller mammals.
Is my pet a flight risk, and/or is it possible to keep my pet on a lead?
It is important to be able to keep your pet on a lead when they are in convention spaces. If you lose control of them or lose them entirely, it can be dangerous for them to wander unattended. Dogs and cats may be found and turned in to shelters, dogs may be reported to animal control as hazards, and any other animal runs the risk of either being unrecognized as a pet or of ending up in a situation with someone who will not care for them properly. If you cannot keep a lead on your pet, it would be safer to keep them in your hotel room or leave them at home.
How does my pet react to or interact with other animals?
If your animal is not well socialized and well behaved with other animals, it may be a safety risk not just for your animal, but for others'. If your animal has a high prey drive, if it is aggressive to other animals or to humans, or if it poses a health or safety risk to other animals, it would be better if they stayed in your hotel room or at home.
If your pet is likely to interfere with a Service Animal doing its job, it is important that they stay in your hotel room or at home. While Emotional Support Animals provide real and valuable help to the people who have them, many Service Animals are trained to save their handler's life. If a human or another animal interferes with a Service Animal while they are working, it could result in their handler becoing seriously injured or dying. If your animal cannot leave Service Animals alone, then they need to stay out of convention spaces.
How will my pet cause other people to react?
If your ESA is an insect or other invertebrate, a skunk (de-scented or intact), a mouse or rat, or any other animal that commonly triggers phobias or extreme negative responses, it would be safer to keep them in your hotel room or at home.
Does my pet commonly cause allergic reactions?
While larger convention spaces may allow enough air flow to prevent a severe allergic reaction, smaller areas such as board rooms (commonly used to host panels and video viewing) will not. In addition, immune-disordered attendees and convention and venue staff will have already been made further vulnerable by the presence of large groups of people, not all of whom are considerate enough to wash their hands after using the restroom. If your animal produces a common allergen, it would be better to keep them in your hotel room or at home.
[I've gotten everything I can think of here, but I'm not an expert. If you can think of anything to add, or find anything that needs to be corrected, please let me know so I can update this!]
Edit: Things to add:
* Consider human energy levels
* What's your plan for if you, the human, have to leave the convention without your animal (such as to go to the hospital)?
* Not all hotels will allow you to leave animals unattended in your hotel room, service animals and ESA's alike.
Edit 2: Hat tip to
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
And the specific item;
"Q29. Are hotel guests allowed to leave their service animals in their hotel room when they leave the hotel?
A. No, the dog must be under the handler's control at all times."
no subject
Date: 2018-06-25 10:39 pm (UTC)OH HEY no I thought of a thing! For anyone who is NOT used to bringing an animal to places where one doesn't often see animals, even in places where they're allowed, it is going to be TIRING. If you're doing the service animal 'please don't touch or disturb', people are gonna try to get around that, & if they're people-friendly & letting people pet them isn't gonna mess you up, you're gonna have people on you a LOT, bcause PET CRITTER MUST PET CRITTER.
I am entirely guilty of this, I leave service animals alone but anyone else I want to make friends with, I do NOT blame people for wanting to make friends with my sweet boycat! But it is an energy cost to keep in mind, especially if you've got anxiety/social anxiety/sound processing issues or pretty much anything else that makes lots of people a problem ANYWAYS.
My boy helps me with my anxiety & introversion & general difficulties in dealing with people, especially lots of people. At the same time, I _do_ wind up interacting with people a lot more than I would otherwise. Which is part of the point! But also I gotta budget that into my energy levels.
Plus there's the energy cost of keeping an eye on them (even my Loiosh gets DONE with people after a while), making sure they have food/water/litterbox/shade/whatever they need. For me, it is ENTIRELY worth bringing him along, & I don't intend to turn people off from the idea of bringing their ESA's along.
But! You gotta consider the extra energy/brain/spoons/whatever it's gonna cost you, & balance that again the extra energy/brain/spoons/whatever you're gonna gain from having them along.
(I also have extensive experience camping with him & taking him to outdoor festivals & such, if you ever want to write up something like this focused on outdoor stuff, I will happily chime in & also provide adorable cat pics if you want.)
no subject
Date: 2018-06-29 03:35 am (UTC)"I, too, want to pet every dog I see, but Service Dogs are here to work."
Thank you very much for the suggestion about human energy levels! I'll be sure to include it once I figure out a good way to word it.
I'm focusing on conventions now, because the one I staff is in two weeks (urk!), but when I've recovered from that, I'd love to get your input on expanding this to cover other events! Thank you very much for offering ^_^
no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-26 12:11 pm (UTC)PS: ES Fish??? At home, I understand, we had oscars once, but, to take them with you on a long trip...; Have people actually done this at conventions? Do they carry them around in buckets? I can't imagine how stressful that must be on the fish!)
no subject
Date: 2018-06-26 04:05 pm (UTC)As to fish, I haven't heard of anyone doing that, but I wouldn't put it past someone to cart a Betta or goldfish to a con in a much-too-small bowl :/ People already keep Bettas in coffee carafes, for pity's sake.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 07:06 am (UTC)I don't mind labradors, GSDs, etc, which are your classic service dogs, but dislike small dogs like Yorkies as I've been bitten by one, so is isn't always a blanket "serivce dogs are okay so all dogs are okay". For others, the dislike may be a fear where they ask you to leave or become distressed. (If you are running a convention, you should also consider what you would do in this scenario.)
no subject
Date: 2018-07-01 08:57 pm (UTC)(1) As someone who has friends with severe dog fears, please make sure you keep the therapy dog visits to a confined area people can avoid, and bring them in and out of that area quickly. My school does this for a lot of it’s events and does say it will keep them in the room but they are never actually just in that room and take forever to get there. They also often use dogs in training to save cost but that has not worked well for the person I know with one dog being
(2) [p]articularly under trained and running at some people sending her running and screaming. People tend to forget not everyone is actually totally into dogs, and especially that a surprising number of people are afraid of them
(3) (the same consideration should go to those with ESA dogs especially, since those are not near as trained and if you are taking them places please keep that in mind. It can cause people a lot of stress unnecessarily)
---
I have copied it here for ease of reading and addressing later, though I also plan to do so at Tumblr.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 11:22 am (UTC)There's a notorious case where this happened to someone's pet fox - Vader the fox - just because someone called in a bite. And that fox wasn't even exposed to the public.