[MR] Dogs at events

[Kelly Keck]

On the topic of dogs at events, I tend to agree with those who have argued
against one more piece of paper work to deal with at troll (or gate, for
those who prefer).  People who volunteer for this job already need to check
membership cards, deal with waivers, maintain a pre-reg list, handle money
and keep accurate records of funds collected, check the notarized forms for
children brought by people other than their parents, handle waiting lists
for feast, etc.  Adding one more piece of paper for them to keep track of is
a bit much.  As others have said, it's likely to result in a lot of groups
deciding that allowing pets isn't worth the hassle.

I'm also a big believer in personal responsibility.  If your dog isn't
properly vaccinated, and it makes another dog sick or gets sick from another
animal, that's *your* responsibility, not the SCA's or the local barony's.
If your dog is high-strung and it bites another animal or a person, again,
it's *your* responsibility to keep your pet under control, or not bring the
pet if you can't.  By the same token, as a parent, it's your responsibility
to keep kids under control, to the extent that that's possible, and to teach
them not to touch strange animals without the owner's permission.  So, if a
child is antagonizing a dog, and that dog bites in self-defense, the parents
(and the child, depending on age) are largely responsible.

Can someone sue the SCA if there's a problem because of a dog at an event?
Oh, absolutely.  In our extremely litigious society, there's always a chance
that someone bitten by a dog will sue the dog's owner, the SCA, the event
site, the autocrat and seneschal personally, the pet store that sold the
dog, the breeder who sold the dog to the pet store, the dog's veterinarian,
and anyone else they can think of who might have been even remotely involved
with the incident.   But, I don't think it's the responsibility of the local
group or the SCA as a whole to plan for every remote possibility and to
require every type of paperwork possible in order to prevent the possibility
of a lawsuit or a problem.  Partly because burying ourselves in red tape has
the potential to suck the fun out of what we do, but also because I don't
think you *can* protect yourself 100% against a frivolous lawsuit, no matter
what rules you enact.  As was said earlier, it ultimately comes down to
personal responsibility.

I look at SCA events less like a dog show or similar event, where the dogs
are the focus of activity and the rules are stricter, but more like a public
space that allows dogs:  a park, a Petco, etc.  You're not required to
present vaccination papers when you take your dog to a public park, or
inside a store, or on a walk through the neighborhod, but you would be
responsible if your animal caused a problem for another person or animal.
If it's not the park's or the store's responsibility to ensure that any
animal that comes on their premises is properly vaccinated, I'm not sure
it's the SCA's either.

Personally, I think it ought to be enough to let animal owners know that
dogs are welcome if they're properly controlled and looked after and that
the owner is expected to take responsibility for their animal(s), and to
remove someone from an event if their animal is causing a problem (and, if
necessary, for a group to ban that animal from future events).

I really don't think the SCA can promise to provide a perfectly safe
environment for people or for animals, just because there's no such thing,
in the real world, as a perfectly safe environment.

YIS,
Adriana Michaels