This is an issue I have pretty well worked out as a player, but am still pretty ambiguous on as a judge. I have an Emotional Support Animal, (more on what that means in a bit) he's a 20lb terrier mix and his name is Lucas. I have him to help me with an anxiety disorder I have. Unlike a true Service Dog, who is trained to do specific tasks, and, more importantly, is legally allowed anywhere it's handler is, an emotional support animal isn't necessarily trained this way. In Lucas's case, his presence helps calm me and staves off panic attacks, but he's also in tune with me enough that when I am feeling anxious, he can see it, and comes to my side to comfort me. It's important to note however, that being registered as an Emotional Support Animal, does not guarantee him the right of full public access. (It does allow him to be some places he normally wouldn't be allowed, but that aren't relevant to this discussion.)
As a player at competitive tournaments, I usually ask permission from the TO in advance of the tournament if I can bring him with me, and while they are allowed to say no, almost all of them have been very understanding, and have given him special permission to accompany me. Having him with me as a player has been an incredible boon to me, and I can see a tangible improvement in my performance at tournaments where I am able to have him with me. He keeps me off tilt, and staves of anxiety and panic in high-stakes situations that would cause anyone some measure of anxiety.
When judging, however, I have, thus far, almost never asked a TO permission for him to accompany me. I wonder if this decision is correct, though, and therefore want to bring it to the community to discuss. At first, I though I would be less likely to feel anxious as a Judge than I would as a player. That has proven, in certain situations, to very much not be the case. In a setting such a GP, (which I have brought Lucas to when I've been a player) I have other Judges I can come to with these issues, and who can, if necessary, share the load if my anxiety does affect my performance. A substantial amount of my judging at this point in my career though, is at tournaments like pPTQs and IQs, where I'm usually the sole judge. I have to be confident and sometimes deescalate verbal confrontations with players, both of which are very difficult for me. Obviously, the main tool I have to combat these issues is the act of judging itself. Practice is a valuable tool, and in the cases where I do have other judges to give me feedback, I can feel more confident in the things I'm doing correctly and repair the things I'm not. However, if I have another tool in my arsenal to cope with the issues I have, shouldn't I use it? The main reason I've cited for not (asking to) bring Lucas to tournaments I judge is that it seems unprofessional. Upon further examination, while it may appear this way to someone who doesn't know the situation, it isn't actually the case. There is the fact that I do have to keep an eye on him, which can take my attention away from my other duties to some degree, which is certainly a valid concern.
I'm now wondering how the pros weigh against the cons, and am willing to consider the fact that what I do to be the best I can as a player may also apply as a Judge. We are a community, though, and fortunately that means I don't have to make this decision by myself. I'd love to hear input from my fellow judges on all the issues I brought up here, and perhaps even ones I have overlooked completely. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

If you haven't already done so, I suggest you chat with Meg Baum, who has a working dog of some variety that I believe she brought to a GP last week.

Judging is hard. Judging at Grand Prix is harder. The only question is, will having Lucas with you help you do a better job? Will the distractions be outweighed by the benefit? I can only imagine that they would be, and then some.

If there is a way to logistically allow for Lucas to accompany you, then I believe you should pursue it. There's nothing unprofessional about it.

Also, don't cut yourself short by anticipating problems that may not exist. Talk to people who would be in the position to make decisions about such things, see what they think about it.

Also, I would make absolutely sure the TO knows you are requesting to bring a ESA, and provide your ESA letter in your application. GP TOs do not control the rules regarding what animals are allowed in the venue, and as you stated, ESAs are not permitted in most locations. If you played in a GP with your ESA, its probably because everyone assumed it was a Service Animal, and we have been conditioned that it is rude to ask (although legal). Also, there are no laws that require you to prove that it is a service animal. So Basically, you just have to believe the person, so asking is creating a confrontation with no benefit. However, it does create a potential liability issue, should something happen.

Finally, as the owner of a 20lb terrier and someone that has worked multiple GPs…

I don't see how the dog can safely do its job. You move a lot at a GP. You avoid many collisions because you are person sized and at eye level. Moving around on a crowded floor with a small furry object 1.5 feet off the ground is asking for Lucas to get stepped on or trampled. And little dog yelps are just about the most pitiful thing I have ever heard. This means either Lucas has to be off the floor or you do. If Lucas is off the floor, he isn't doing his job of alerting you of issues, and if you are off the floor, you probably aren't doing your job either. There are few positions that allow a person to be stationary for prolonged periods of time; Map manager at sides, Prize wall, Scorekeeper,

Keep in mind that at GPs, you have a huge support structure. A huge chuck of a team leads responsibilities is to address the needs of his team. That includes dealing with anxiety and confidence issues. If you start to get into a heated discussion with players on the floor, *poof*, like 4 judges will appear out of nowhere to support. Judging at a GP is drastically different than solo judging events.

-Bryan

On Mon, May 30, 2016 at 10:26 AM, Yonatan Kamensky
<forum-27475-8d86@apps.magicjudges.org> wrote:
> Judging is hard. Judging at Grand Prix is harder.


Yonatan and Bryan have great points. But I think it's right to defer
to Jacen's opinion of which is harder for him on the axis that is
toughest for him in the first place: anxiety triggering.

That said the places where Jacen thinks he needs his dog the most:
small events that are solo judged, are also the places where I suspect
that a dog is more likely to not get so underfoot. It is also not a
large burden to ask the players to keep an eye out and not to trample
him at a small event.

1) Some police officer have dogs which increase their authority. But are we really police officers? And do you want to give this impression to players?

2) You asked the TOs to bring your dog at the events but did you ask the players if they felt uncomfortable because there was a dog in the room. Some people are scared of dogs and they will feel unwell/uncomfortable because of it.
In a GP, you can't ask all the players if they are ok with your dog.

3) In a GP, there is a higher percentage of people/space than usual. Because a dog is under the usual level of the eyes and the attention, there is a higher risk for him to be walk over. I don't know how your dog is going to react if someone walk on it (I am sure he is adorable) but if you care about your dog, I wouldn't bring it in this type f event.

I suspect accommodating an ESA is not something most TOs would attempt for a large event. It's not an issue I've grappled with, so I don't have an answer myself.

What I can suggest is that if a person decides an ESA is required for them to judge, include that clearly in any applications. A judge showing up to a shift with an unexpected animal tucked under their arm is very likely to go poorly. Even if an organizer would accommodate a request, springing it as a surprise is unprofessional and may lead to ejection then and in the future.

Perhaps a more intriguing questions is what allowances could a player expect for ESAs? I suspect the real answer varies by venue and animal. At this point, the question is uncommon enough that ad hoc answers seem best.

As folks have pointed out, judges work together at events. I have many secret ESA, actually–after all, people are animals, too. One of my ESAs for East Coast events in Nicholas Sabin. On the West Coast, Kyle Knudson is one of my ESAs. Having a fellow judge who you can go to and vent with so no player, judge, or staff has to get all their arms and legs broken for being a giant jerk / tool / idiot is super helpful. Petting Sabin might not be a great idea, but he does tilt his head to the side a little like a puppy when you're griping about medical devices. And I'm mostly certain Kyle is housebroken. In any case, having good friends who can look out for each other at events makes things much nicer for everyone. Feel free to talk with your designated ESJudge(s) when looking over a staff in case there's stuff going on they should be aware of.

On Wed, Jun 1, 2016 at 9:59 AM, John Carter
<forum-27475-8d86@apps.magicjudges.org> wrote:
> Feel free to talk with your designated ESJudge(s) when looking over a staff
> in case there's stuff going on they should be aware of.


Sound like a program that could have merit to formalise/automated for
GPs. On being accepted to the event you are given another 3 judges who
it's recommended you go to for emotional support.

–
Gareth Pye - blog.cerberos.id.au
Level 2 MTG Judge, Melbourne, Australia

I was actually thinking about this a few weeks back, I am glad its being discussed.

I think the best way to go about getting a solid answer to this would be to use what connections you have; talk to the TOs you know and trust. I think the best way to really get a look into how a TO would react and how it might come off is to ask TOs themselves.

I'm none too aware of how things go down in your region, but I suspect in my area at least, as long as the TO gets a good Judging experience out of their Judge, they'd be unlikely to mind a small fur-ball that is confirmed to be a positive influence. It seems like having a doge at larger venues to follow you around might be an issue, but it does seem like the kind of thing where you could possibly retreat to a convenient storage location to get a dose of the doge (if that's viable that is.)

When it comes down to it though, we all want to give our best at every event, and if having Lucas there would do that, I'd lean much more towards at least talking with TOs about it. If it's the kind of thing where you CAN handle yourself overall without him, then opting to say “Hey, can I bring my ESA? I can still judge even without him but he really helps me through the day :) ”

I'll be in the minority here I'm sure, but for me personally I worry about players (or judges) who have allergies to animals. I'm a parent of a pre-teen who plays Magic and has an allergy to dogs and I would likely be very unhappy if I brought my son to an event, to discover once we are already there that an animal would be in the venue all day.

To be fair, this would be a larger issue if we are talking about a small LGS running an event, as opposed to a large arena sized (Grand Prix) venue where one can reasonably attempt to keep distance between themselves and the animal.

I think there are probably logistical concerns as far as having a small dog with you during very large events. I'd worry about the welfare of your dog with so many stomping feet around. It is the kind of thing you should talk to the TO about way ahead of time.

That said, service dogs are an accepted thing (and legally protected), even though those dogs are typically larger and more allergy triggering than a terrier. I see no problem with a well-trained ESA being with a player during an event. If there are serious issues with allergies or fear for a particular player, that can be accommodated, but even at hotels and on airplanes, service animals (and usually ESA's) are accommodated just fine.

Of course, ultimately, this is up to the TO, but I would be surprised if this were an issue.

Hey there all
I am the before mentioned Meg with a service animal. I have a service animal, a German Shepherd named Sorin Barkov (lol) . I know for me I absolutely ask every TO I plan on bringing him to thier events from FNM to GP. Sorin is extensively trained to perform specific tasks for myself and to handle being in large crowds in public. Even with that he will still be training for the next 2+ years. Legally he is allowed wherever I am, save for places it would be dangerous for him to be. But he is a service dog, not an emotional service animal.

Sorin is almost 50lbs, and will continue to get bigger, he has to be to provide part of the service I need. Even with him being that big he got stepped on at least once at the GP this weekend. A small <20lb dog would be at risk of being trampled all day. Unless you planned to carry him around all day it just wouldn't be safe for him, unlike when you are playing and can have accommodations like fixed seating, online pairings and the like. I have Sorin on a hands free leash while I am working and he is trained to heel and sit or lay down when I am stationary. This keeps my hands free and makes sure he is still there when I need him while keeping him out of the way. That would be my first concern with a small esa.

As for players or others being uncomfortable around a service animal that's not really something they can tell me to get lost on. Sorin is just as much a medical tool for me as someone's wheelchair or cane. The same isn't necessarily true for an ESA. While they can be a massive help and support they arent a medical necessity. If you feel that you cannot function without your animal's presence and that animal performs specific tasks that help you continue a normal life consider having a talk with your doctor or psychiatrist to see if a Psychological Service Animal is a possibility.

That's all I have on that man. I've been to 30+ gps at this point, and I've just started bring Sorin to events. He has just completed his first leg of training. I have done an ungodly amount of research as well as training with my service animal. If you need anything, or have any questions I can help with please feel free to hit me up on judge apps or on facebook and we can talk.

Edited Meg Baum (June 1, 2016 04:25:07 PM)