Guide and service dogs help people with disabilities avoid hazards or perform tasks. Guide dogs help people with visual impairments while service dogs help people with other kinds of disabilities such as hearing impairments and epilepsy. They can help a person navigate through public areas, alert them to sounds, open doors and do other tasks. British Columbia’s Guide and Service Dog Act and regulation govern how guide and service dogs and their handlers are certified. Certification increases public safety, raises training standards and improves public access for dog and handler teams.
There are two ways to be certified:
- Receive a trained dog from an accredited school
- Pass a public safety test
Training and testing ensures only dogs who behave well in a variety of environments are certified.
See the website for details on the certification process and the rights that certified service dogs have.
